Rainbow
by BornOnTheBreakOfDawn
Summary: "Love is like a rainbow, so beautiful and colorful...It brings happiness to those who witness it... It brings hope after the rain ends..." (This is a series of one-shots based on each color of the rainbow. A Broppy fanfic)
1. Red

Rainbow

* * *

This is a series of one-shots based on each color of the rainbow.

For the first story, the theme is related to Valentine's Day since it is fast approaching. I ship Branch x Poppy so much after I watched the Trolls movie so these stories would be based on this couple (and perhaps hints of other pairings).

Disclaimer: I own nothing… Absolutely nothing… I will never, ever, ever own Dreamworks Trolls…

* * *

Chapter 1: Red

Branch had a lot of things running in his mind that evening. He had been pacing the floor in his study for quite some time, trying to figure something out.

"Ugh… Why is it so hard to think what I should give her!?" The once gray troll had grabbed a fistful of hair in frustration.

He wouldn't be so problematic if he wasn't reminded what the following day would be.

" _So Branch… What will you give to our Queen tomorrow?" Biggie asked the survivalist troll when they crossed paths earlier that day._

" _Huh?" Branch started. "What are you talking about? It isn't Poppy's birthday yet."_

 _The big blue troll chuckled._

" _You don't know what tomorrow is?"_

 _The once gray troll shook his head._

" _Tomorrow is Hearts' day. And you know what that means, right?" Biggie responded._

 _Branch's eyes widened at the realization._

' _Shoot!' He thought. 'I forgot about Hearts' Day! I have no idea what to give to Poppy!'_

 _The other troll noticed Branch's panicked look and he knew what was running in the turquoise troll's head._

" _If you want my advice…" Biggie began, "…You can give her anything as long as it's heartfelt. I'm pretty sure she'll be happy with anything you'll give her."_

 _Mr. Dinkles just mewed in agreement._

Branch sighed at the memory.

"Yeah, right… I don't even have a clue what I'll get for Poppy."

He just got back a bit late from his expedition for the past few days in the forest to look for medicinal herbs and map a safe route to and from the Troll Tree. He had completely forgotten what will be happening the next day so he wasn't able to prepare ahead. But even though he just returned, he wouldn't want to use it as an excuse and upset that special pink troll in his life just because he didn't have anything to give to her.

He looked around the room to get an idea what he can give to the Queen. He noticed an old photo he had with his grandmother; it was taken on the last Hearts' day they celebrated before she was taken by a Bergen. He walked closer to the picture frame and picked it up, gently touching the photo. A bittersweet smile slowly crept on his face. He recalled that during those times before they befriended the Bergens, each Hearts' day was treated as if it was the last, thus they had celebrated it to the fullest with their loved ones.

During that last Hearts' day he celebrated with his grandmother, he surprised her in the morning before she woke up by preparing her favorite tea and leaving it on her nightstand with a miniature red rose he crafted himself. He also included a card in which it said, _"Happy Hearts' day Grandma! I love you! From, Branch"_. He remembered the smile he saw on his grandmother's face that day; it was radiant and full of love. That same smile was perfectly captured in the photo he was holding; it made him teary eyed and caused his heart to ache, missing his beloved grandmother. It was a good thing that Biggie's father took that photo; at least he had something to remember that moment with. He recalled that ever since that day she was taken by a Bergen and he lost his colors, he stopped celebrating Heart's day and any other joyous occasions with the other trolls. It was only recently that he started to open up and take part in the celebrations after he got his colors back and started dating Poppy.

'Poppy...'

A mere thought of her was enough to lift Branch's spirits, making him smile and his heart beat faster. It was no use denying how smitten he was with the Queen of the Trolls. He had never thought that one day this pretty pink troll, to whom he had a secret crush on all this time, would end up being together with him.

His focus went back to the photo in his hand when inspiration struck. He suddenly knew what he was going to give to Poppy. He carefully placed back the picture frame on the shelf it was on and hurriedly took out his craft materials from his cabinets. All those years fixing up the invitations he destroyed made him better at crafting. He was just hoping that the Queen would be happy with his gift.

Another thought came to him, 'Hmm... Maybe the Snack Pack can help me with this too...'

* * *

The following day was pretty much busy for everyone in the Troll Tree, including the rest of Bergen town. Everyone was bustling about, meeting up with their loved ones to give them their Hearts' day gifts. There were even some trolls giving gifts to their Bergen friends. It was the first year that the Bergens will be celebrating the occasion. After King Gristle heard about it from Queen Poppy, he decided to declare it as a holiday in Bergen town. It was also a good reason for him to spend an extra special day with his girlfriend, Bridget.

Back in the Troll Tree, the queen had been busy sending out Hearts' day greeting cards and attending to her fellow trolls as they had been coming over to her pod to give her their gifts. As much as she appreciated all the visits and the presents she received, she was a bit disheartened that none of them came from her special lad.

'Oh well, I'll go visit and give him my gift instead.' Poppy thought.

She went to her room to get her gift and was preparing to leave when she heard a knock on her door. She hurriedly opened it, hoping it was Branch, but was slightly disappointed that it was Biggie who came over. She was still happy to see her friend though so she quickly masked her disappointment with a smile.

"Hey Biggie! Happy Hearts' day!" Poppy greeted the big blue troll. She opened her arms to give him a short hug, in which he happily returned. As she pulled away from him, she also greeted Mr. Dinkles that was perched on his shoulder. The worm mewed as he greeted back.

"Happy Hearts' day to you too, Poppy! Here, I got something for you." Biggie reached into his basket and gave her a small box. Poppy opened it and saw a cupcake inside. She smiled.

"Oh wow, it looks yummy! Thanks, Biggie! Hold on just a second; let me give you something too. Won't you come in?"

"It's okay, Poppy, I won't stay too long." Her friend replied.

She nodded, went back inside for a bit, and then quickly stepped out to hand him a small pouch of Hearts' day candies. She was planning to give similar candies to her closest friends.

The big troll smiled.

"Thanks, Poppy! And I hope you enjoy the cupcake. I better get going though; I'll still hand out the other cupcakes to the rest of the Snack Pack. See you later!"

He was about to turn and take his leave when he remembered something.

"Oh! I almost forgot. Poppy, make sure to check for something in the box later, okay? Bye!"

As the big blue troll left, the queen wondered about what her friend said and she went back inside her pod to properly check the box. She opened it and took out the cupcake. That was when she noticed there was some sort of card inside. She pulled it out and her eyes widened in surprise as she read it.

'Dear Poppy,

I know you wouldn't be expecting this, but I came up with something like a game, similar to a scavenger hunt. I left certain notes to the rest of the Snack Pack, so each one will contain the name of the troll (or trolls) you'll be getting the next note from. The last note will direct you where you can find me (And no, I'm not talking about my bunker).

Good luck and be careful, okay?

Love, Branch'

She looked at the bottom of the note and saw DJ Suki's name there. Poppy beamed. She suddenly got excited and hurriedly stored away Biggie's cupcake, made sure her gifts for Branch and the rest of the Snack Pack was with her, and left her pod to look for her next friend.

* * *

The first thing she had to check was if DJ Suki was in her pod. As she got closer, she can hear music mixes that the troll was playing. Poppy hurried to the pod door and knocked. The red skinned troll then appeared and smiled to the troll queen when she saw her.

"Hey Poppy! Happy Hearts' day!" DJ immediately hugged her friend. The queen greeted and hugged back.

"I got you something here, DJ." Poppy gave her gift and the other troll smiled at her.

"Thanks, Poppy! I have something for you too. Wait just a sec..." She handed out a record album with a folded note lightly taped on its cover.

"I made a mix of love songs for you and Branch. I hope you'll like them!" DJ happily exclaimed. The queen was touched and she embraced her friend again.

"Thank you so much! I'm pretty sure we'd love listening to your music."

When the two pulled away, Poppy went ahead and carefully removed the note from the record. She opened it to scan its contents and let out a light gasp.

"What is it?" DJ asked with concern.

"It looks like that this is a part of a poem." Poppy responded.

"Really…? What does it say?"

Poppy started reading aloud the contents of the note.

"In all these years I've shut myself

Only you had held the key

To open my eyes and my heart

With all your love for me..."

"Aww... That's so sweet... But is that it?" DJ probed when the troll queen didn't continue.

"Yep, that's why I said it looks like this is a part of a poem. I'm guessing the next notes would have the rest of it."

"Ooh, that's very interesting. I think you better go get the other notes to know what comes afterwards. Who are you going to visit next?"

Poppy looked back at the note, she saw Satin and Chenille's names there. She smiled.

"Looks like I'll be meeting up with the twins."

* * *

The queen had followed a sequence of meeting with Satin and Chenille, Fuzzbert and Smidge, and then with Cooper and Guy Diamond. The notes she gathered from them contained the rest of the poem:

"...I never would have imagined

After knowing someone like you

That you would bring my colors back

And make my dreams come true

Your voice, your eyes, your smile

All of them mesmerize me

You saved me from my darkest woes

You're the reason why I'm happy

I know I am not perfect

And I've hurt you a lot before

But I swear to make it right

And love you even more..."

Poppy was starting to get teary eyed with what Branch had already written and was looking forward to meeting up with him. He had written on the back of the last note where he was and she swiftly took off to find him.

'You will find me in the place

Where our root tunnels end

The place we met that Cloud Guy

Who then became our friend…'

As she arrived at the place, she was amazed at how different everything looked since the last time she passed through there. The area was much cleaner and there were beautiful flowers growing all around the place. She got distracted at the sight until she felt someone tap on her shoulder. When she turned, she immediately saw Branch who was smiling at her. With no hesitation, she launched herself to him, giving him a tight hug. The other troll laughed and hugged back.

"Good job in finding me, Poppy." Branch whispered.

The pink troll pulled away and gave him a very beautiful smile. The same type of smile that made him fall all over again for her.

"You were pretty creative in coming up with something like that." Poppy replied.

"I hope it wasn't troublesome for you..." The turquoise colored troll spoke.

The troll queen shook her head.

"No, not at all. I actually enjoyed it. It was a good thing too; I did plan to visit everyone from the Snack Pack to give them their Hearts' day gifts. It was kinda like hitting two birds with one stone, not that we're hitting any birds anyway..."

Branch laughed. It warmed Poppy's heart seeing him happy considering the number of years he remained isolated and glum before.

"Speaking of Hearts' day gifts, I need to give one to you. Come with me." The survivalist troll took Poppy's hand and guided her to one side of the clearing. She noticed that he prepared a picnic, with a blanket already laid out and a food basket placed on one corner.

"Oh wow, you prepared all of this for me?" The pink troll was deeply touched. Branch knelt and took one of his lass' hands and kissed it.

"Anything for my queen..." He responded. Poppy blushed at this.

They both then sat on the blanket while Branch was taking out the food for their picnic from the basket.

"You weren't kidding you were passionate about romance. And you even said it sarcastically when it was actually the truth!" The troll queen remarked as she recalled the time they were helping Bridget with her date with King Gristle.

"I had to be sarcastic about it. I didn't want you guys to think that the village grump was actually a romantic. I'd never hear the end of it!"

Poppy laughed.

"Well, everyone would understand now since we're dating; though they do still tease us sometimes."

"Pfft... I get pissed off when they do. Sure, they meant well, but it's just getting annoying." Branch responded.

Poppy giggled at this. Some things just never change for him.

"So, everything's set, let's dig in!" Branch told Poppy after he finished arranging the food and utensils on the blanket.

The queen picked up a sandwich and happily ate it. While they both were eating, Poppy was looking at the array of food and things spread out on the blanket when she noticed something sticking out from behind the basket. She asked Branch what it was.

"Oh, it's a record player that DJ Suki lent me. I'm not sure why she gave it to me, but she said that it will come in handy later on."

That was when Poppy realized DJ's reason for her gift. She took out the record and showed it to Branch.

"This is the gift DJ gave me earlier. She said it's a mix of songs for us both. Maybe we can play it here?"

The other troll smiled and nodded. He went ahead and set the player up, placed the record there, and then let it play the music.

The picnic date became much more enjoyable when they were listening to the music. At one point, Branch offered out a hand to Poppy, inviting her to dance. She accepted it and they were slow dancing to some of the mellow songs. They were all smiles and had been singing along with the other songs played on the record. When Branch heard one particular song, he stopped dancing but kept Poppy's hands in his. The pink troll was a bit puzzled by his actions, but her eyes widened when he started singing to her.

" _I never felt alone_

 _I was happy on my own_

 _And who would ever know_

 _There was something missing…"_

The troll queen smiled and sang along with him.

" _I guess I didn't see the possibility_

 _It was waiting all the time_

 _But it never crossed my mind_

 _Till you opened up my eyes_

 _Now, all I think about is…"_

The couple started singing together.

" _You, in my life, in my dreams_

 _In my heart, I know it's true_

 _That I belong to you…_

 _Because of you in my world_

 _In my arms, I have everything and now_

 _I can't imagine what I'd do_

 _Without you..."_

The two looked at each other tenderly as they sang along the rest of the song. When it ended, Poppy decided then it was the perfect time to give her gift.

"Hey Branch? I know this isn't much but I hope you'll like it." She handed over to him a small box. He smiled gratefully towards her and opened the package. In it were two handmade bracelets.

"Those are promise bracelets." Poppy spoke up. "I made it as a reminder for the both of us that no matter what, we'll be there for each other. The red cord 'ties' us together."

She picked up the bracelet with the blue and red cords then put it around Branch's wrist. He did likewise to Poppy with the red and pink one.

Branch took the queen's hands in his and looked at her. He gave her an earnest smile and kissed both her hands. A blush appeared across Poppy's cheeks.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you, Poppy." He asked seriously.

"Well, you did help save the whole Troll kingdom from getting eaten... And you brought my colors back when I lost all hope. I think that's enough reason, don't you think?"

Branch smiled at this.

The pink troll pulled away one of her hands and brought it to caress his cheek. "You're a wonderful troll to be with, Branch. I am very lucky to have you."

The survivalist troll placed his hand over hers that was on his cheek and looked at her lovingly.

"And I'm lucky to have you too..."

Branch slowly pulled her hand away from his face and held it, looking down on the bracelets that they were both wearing. He then looked back up to Poppy.

"You know, the picnic isn't the only surprise I have for you." He said.

This puzzled the queen and sat still while observing Branch pull out something from his hair. It was a little blue box tied with a lovely pink ribbon. He handed it over to the pink troll. Poppy looked at the gift then back at Branch, her eyes questioning. He gave a short nod, urging her to open her present. The troll queen then proceeded to untie the bow and opened the box. She was surprised when it "exploded" with glitter, earning a chuckle from Branch. She frowned at him.

"Sorry, Poppy. That look of yours was just priceless. Besides, you enjoyed spraying my face with glitter from your scrapbooks and invitations, remember?"

Poppy simply rolled her eyes but she was wearing a small smile and then dusted the glitter off herself. She went back to the gift and noticed that the box had spread itself out, and each side of the box contained smaller panels popping up. She noticed that each panel had the first 4 parts of the poem from the notes she got earlier written out. In the middle was a handcrafted version of a beautiful red rose with a small card propped against it. She reached to get that card and read its contents.

"I love you my dear Poppy

You are the Queen of my Heart

Forever I promise you

That we'll never be apart…"

The pink troll looked up at her companion; Branch had recited the last part of the poem written on the card in her hand. He looked away shyly, scratching the back of his head.

"I'm sorry if it sounded a bit cheesy. But I hope you would still like it."

Poppy set down the box and reached out to her troll lad, embracing him tightly.

"I love you too, Branch. And I love your gift, your poem, the picnic date, everything. It was just perfect. Thank you." She whispered to him.

The turquoise colored troll hugged her back.

As they pulled away, their gazes locked onto each other. Slowly, the distance between the two had gotten shorter as their faces drew closer. Their eyes closed as they can feel the warmth of their breaths on their lips, anticipating the contact. And with just the slightest of touches, they felt their lips meet but then they heard a sound of a shutter from a distance. Both opened their eyes and looked to the source of the sound, noticing Biggie there who was holding a camera. Just a little farther from him stood the Snack Pack. The couple's faces became flustered upon knowing there was an audience.

"Oh, I'm sorry I interrupted the moment. I really tried my best to be discreet about it, but I had to catch that special moment on camera." Biggie spoke.

"Aww… That was such a let-down. You could have waited a bit, Biggie. No matter, can we get an encore?" DJ Suki teased the two.

"Yeah, do it again!" The twins cheered.

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" The rest of the Snack pack chanted.

Branch had to clear his throat to interrupt their teasing and catch their attention.

"All right guys… That's enough. I believe we still have enough food here, maybe you wanna join us and eat?"

"Yey! Thanks Branch!" The Snack Pack eagerly dug in to the food prepared while Branch and Poppy laughed among themselves as they watched the group. Guy Diamond noticed the record album cover on the side and picked it up to check the list of songs included.

"Ooh, this is a nice list, it's got: Your Love, Can't Help Falling in Love, This I Promise You, Just the Way You Are, My Love will Never Fail You, and many others. You compiled this DJ Suki?"

She nodded.

The rest were complimenting her choice of music and even replayed the whole track list. This time, the trolls from the Snack Pack were the ones singing and dancing to the songs played on the record.

Branch was so focused at watching the group that he didn't notice the troll queen getting closer to him until he felt her lips on his cheek. As she pulled back, she saw the shocked look on his face.

"Po-Poppy?!"

Some of their friends witnessed the act and teased the two incessantly. The troll couple just ignored them though and focused on each other.

The queen giggled.

"You look so cute looking all surprised, Branch. But what I did was just to show my thanks for everything today."

Branch smiled.

"No… Thank you. Because of you, today became my best Heart's day celebration ever."

"Hmm… Guess we'll have to top that next year." Poppy replied.

"And the year after that..." The troll lad took his partner's hands.

"And all the years for the rest of our lives…" The queen leaned her head until their foreheads were touching.

Both knew that no matter what happens, they will be together… for the rest of their days.

-End-

* * *

Author's Notes: Just in case you're wondering, the poem I wrote here is entirely mine. The songs however are not so please give credit where credit is due.

Here are the lists of songs included or mentioned in the story:

You by Jim Brickman and Tara MacLean

Your Love by Jim Brickman

Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley

This I Promise You by NSync (you should get why I included this)

Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars

My Love will Never Fail You by Marie Hines


	2. Orange

Rainbow

* * *

Author's notes: I apologize if it took a while for me to write a new story; work and writer's blocks are getting in my way. But I do appreciate all those who reviewed, followed, and added this story to their favorites! I hope you'll enjoy this and the next stories.

Just to make things clear, the timeline of this whole fanfiction is not in order. For example, some chapters may focus at one point in the past or maybe some time in the future. I have to depend on whatever idea I would come up with the color themes I will be using. It's not necessary that all stories are interconnected with each other, so treat them as independent stories.

In this chapter, the setting takes place a few days after the failed Trollstice. Technically, they're not yet dating here… But you'll see. Hehehe

Disclaimer: If I did own the rights to Trolls, the second movie would be released much sooner than what was announced. Unfortunately, I own nothing so I can't do anything about the movie release. (^_^)

Also, I am perfectly aware that there are other writers who used the idea of the trolls going back to the old troll village and getting their things when they moved back to the Troll Tree so I'm not claiming this idea as an original. (Mentioning writers: dragonNMR, everydaywonderful, and AliceLikeFireflies) Plus, it's only a minor thing in this story; I'm going to focus on something else entirely so please don't call me out as copying just for that part.

Additional notes: I was also a bit disheartened when a somewhat similar story was posted on the site, but I'll still continue with this chapter since I was already done even before the other story was posted (I was working on this for more than a week but I only finished it on March 16 due to my busy schedule). And my story is not exactly the same as with the other one. (I do love your work though DonnysGirl87!)

Sorry for the long Author's notes segment, let's continue with the story!

* * *

Chapter 2: Orange

The area surrounding the Troll Tree was bustling with activity. The trolls who went on an excursion to get their belongings from the old Troll Village came back and those who stayed behind were busy helping them unload their things from the cart the bergens lent to them. It was a good thing that King Gristle had offered the trolls to use it, along with a couple of bergens to accompany them during the trip, when Queen Poppy mentioned about their plan in going back to the village. At least the trip would be easier and much quicker compared to the trolls journeying there by foot.

Queen Poppy was also busy unloading her things, including her father's, from the cart. A few of her friends helped her as well so the task was done pretty quickly. She looked around to see who else needed help and spotted Branch. He was pushing a wheelbarrow with several boxes inside so she hurried over to help.

"Hey, Branch? You need a hand with those boxes? I have another wheelbarrow we can use." The pink troll asked.

The survivalist troll looked at her and smiled upon hearing her offer.

"No, that's okay, Poppy. I can manage these." Branch replied.

He noticed though the crestfallen look on the queen's face; he had to say something quickly to avoid making her feel bad.

"…But I do still have a few other things back there, maybe you want to help me get those after I put these boxes away?"

After hearing this, Poppy beamed and nodded quickly. She hurriedly took off to get the other wheelbarrow. The other troll simply gave a small chuckle, finding her enthusiasm to help endearing. He surprised himself with his reaction; normally he would find it annoying when the pink troll tried to pester him into having her help him. But just recently, he couldn't bring himself to be angry towards her anymore. Probably because after regaining his colors, he was looking at her in a new light.

As soon as Branch set the boxes down with his other things, he went back to the cart with Poppy waiting nearby. They walked up the front panel of the cart which served as a ramp and went to the remaining items. The turquoise colored troll picked up a huge backpack, sliding his arms through the straps, and then lifting and placing the bigger boxes in his wheelbarrow. His companion picked up the remaining smaller boxes. They looked around and noted nothing else was left inside the cart before they slowly made their way outside.

"It's a good thing you didn't bring all those traps and weapons from your bunker. Those would be pretty heavy to carry." The pink troll started making small talk with her present company.

"Well…" Branch started. "I was planning to go back and get those on the next trip to the village."

The troll queen looked at him incredulously.

"What do you still need those for? The bergens are our friends now!"

"It's not necessarily for the bergens. You'll never know what other creatures can be a threat to us in the future. It doesn't hurt to be ready, right?" Branch responded.

Poppy tried to hold back her laughter but was failing.

"Still the paranoid troll, are we?" The troll queen responded.

The survivalist troll snorted at this.

"Pfft… Whatever, Your Majesty…"

Poppy merely giggled.

They reached the spot where Branch had laid out his other things. It was near the entrance of the bunker he was still in the progress of building that was by one of the roots of the Troll Tree. The main room was already built; it was finished much faster as some of their troll friends offered to help him in the construction. The queen had once asked why he still needs the bunker when he had already chosen a pod to stay in (And it was 'coincidently' close to hers, I might add). He simply stated the same reason he gave to the other trolls; it would be used for storage purposes, as well as emergencies. Poppy accepted his answer.

As they had moved the remaining items from the wheelbarrow to the ground, the pink troll noticed that one of the smaller boxes she carried had opened a little and spotted something like a book cover inside it. Branch was still preoccupied with his other things so he didn't notice that Poppy was peering inside the box. She took out the book carefully and noticed the small flower designs glued on a purple felt cover. There was no title on the book though. The whole thing looked a bit faded, indicating it may be several years old. Although she was curious, she didn't open the book because she didn't want to pry to anything that may be private in there. Instead, she called out Branch's attention.

"Umm, Branch?"

The said troll looked up from where he was sitting while arranging his things to look at the queen.

"What is it, Poppy?"

She held out the book to show it to him. His eyes widened upon seeing it. He slowly stood up and approached her, reaching out for the book and Poppy gave it to him willingly. She silently observed how he gently touched the cover while having a wistful look on his face. Branch looked up at his companion, noticing her questioning gaze towards him.

"I'm guessing you're wondering what this is, right?"

Poppy's eyes widened in surprise and then nodded.

The once gray troll opened the book and got closer to her so she can see what was inside.

"This was my grandma's scrapbook. She said she started making this after I was born."

The troll queen noticed there were a few pictures there of baby Branch and a few journal notes included. She had to admit, he looked adorable in those pictures. He flipped through a few pages and came across a page which seemed to show some sort of recipe. He gave a sad smile upon seeing this.

"She used to bake a lot and I loved the pastries she made. She included here the recipes of my favorites, like this recipe for orange sponge cake with vanilla icing." Branch showed the recipe to Poppy.

"I remembered that she baked this cake especially for my birthdays." Branch continued. "I don't know why, but when I first tasted it, I loved it right away and became an instant favorite…"

He paused and seemed to be thinking about something.

"Branch…?" Poppy wondered why he trailed off.

"Oh, sorry… I got lost in thought for a while there." Branch cleared his throat.

"Please don't laugh but I suddenly remembered that when I was around 11 or 12 years old, I attempted to make that cake for my birthday. I missed the taste of her cake so I took out this book and tried following the recipe. The batter seemed okay and so I poured it in a cake pan then placed it in the oven. While waiting, I was cleaning up the kitchen. Because I got so busy, it was late for me to realize that I forgot to set the timer so I only checked back on the cake when I smelled something burning. I guess you could imagine the charred look on that cake and it also took me a while to get it off because it got stuck to the pan surface. I gave up completely on recreating that cake and stored the book away. It's only today I got to see this book again after a long time."

The troll queen looked at Branch as he was relaying his story before going back to look at the page. She suddenly got an idea. She tried her best to memorize the whole recipe for a short time and store it for future reference. She doubted that Branch would lend the book to her but she also didn't want him to catch on what she was planning.

The survivalist troll proceeded to scan the rest of the pages before closing it and putting it back to the box where it should be. He took the box and moved it to the other things he had been arranging earlier. Poppy picked up the other boxes and brought them closer to Branch. He gave her a small smile.

"Thanks for the help, Poppy. I can take everything from here though. Do you need some help too with your things?"

The queen shook her head.

"No, it's okay, I can handle everything myself. But if I do need something, is it all right to ask you for help?"

Branch smiled and nodded.

"Sure, no problem… Just let me know when you need me."

Poppy gave a smile of her own and suddenly brought him into a hug which surprised the male troll and caused him to blush.

"Thanks, Branch." She whispered in his ear.

The pink troll soon pulled away, bade her farewell and walked away from the other troll.

When the troll queen left the area where Branch was, she took out a small notepad and a pen from her hair and started to write down the recipe she memorized from that book. It was a good thing she brought that notepad with her; she often brought it to take down notes on what concerns her people would say to her when they meet while doing her rounds or any sort of reminder that needs to be checked at a later time. Hoping she had wrote down everything correctly, she put away her notepad and hurried to get her things inside her pod so she can start working on her plan.

* * *

The following day, Queen Poppy had to see off the next batch of trolls heading back to their forest village to retrieve their belongings. Branch was coming along with them and the queen noticed him. She hurriedly went over to the survivalist troll.

"Hey Branch! You're going back to the village again?"

"Yep, I told you yesterday I was going to get my other things."

Poppy giggled at this.

"You were actually serious about getting your traps and weapons?"

Branch scowled back at her.

"Hardy-har-har…Yes, I was being serious. If you're just going to tease me about it, I better leave now."

As he was about to walk away from the troll queen, he felt arms encircle around him and heard her speaking near his ear.

"I'm sorry. Just be careful, okay?"

She stepped back, releasing him from her embrace before he turned to face her. He knew he couldn't stay mad at her anymore so he gave her a small smile.

"Don't worry, Poppy. I will."

The other trolls witnessed the exchange and they teased them about it. Both trolls blushed and Branch rushed to get inside the cart.

As soon as they made sure everyone was on board, the bergen escorting the trolls started to push the cart and headed to the forest village. The remaining trolls were waving their goodbyes and those who were inside the cart waved back. The troll queen saw Branch and waved; he smiled and also waved her goodbye.

A few hours later since the second batch of trolls for the excursion left and after making sure that all her queenly duties were addressed, Queen Poppy decided to visit her bergen friend, Bridget. She wanted to ask if she can help with her plan. The troll queen went to King Gristle's castle to find her. Poppy asked around where she can find her friend and she was informed that she was in the kitchen.

'Perfect timing…' The pink troll thought.

The queen hurriedly made her way to the castle's kitchen and from there she spotted Bridget in front of a stove. She was boiling some water in a kettle for the tea she was preparing for the bergen king.

"Hey, Bridget…!"

The female bergen looked for the source of the voice and she found the troll queen standing on top of a counter nearby. She immediately smiled seeing her friend.

"Hi Poppy…! What brings you here?"

"Umm… I'm trying to learn how to bake a certain cake. I know that recently you took up cooking and baking because you wanted to impress King Gristle so I'm kinda hoping you would be able to help me with a cake recipe?" Poppy responded.

Bridget beamed at her.

"Sure! That's not a problem. Do you have the recipe?"

"Yep, I got it right here."

The pink troll took out her notepad from her hair and showed it to her bergen friend. Bridget took it and looked for a magnifying glass in one of the counter drawers so she can read the text on the notepad better.

"Oh! This is a recipe for Orange sponge cake! Interesting… I think I remembered seeing a similar recipe in one of the cookbooks here."

"Really…? Have you tried baking one before?"

Bridget shook her head.

"No… I want to try though. You want to bake one together?"

Poppy smiled widely upon hearing her suggestion.

"Of course, that would be awesome! Though I guess we would have to make two different cakes because of the size?"

The female bergen realized this and agreed to the troll queen's idea. Bridget started to search for the cookbook where she saw a similar recipe so she can compare it with Poppy's notes. When she found it, she brought it to the counter so the pink troll can see it too. They realized though that there were a few steps missing and ingredients left out in the queen's notes.

"Oh dear, I just had to memorize the recipe in a hurry… I wasn't sure if what I was writing down was right or not." Poppy spoke up.

"Huh? Why did you have to quickly memorize it?" Bridget asked.

The troll queen went silent for a bit, feeling flustered.

"I…Well, I was planning this as a surprise for someone and he was there when I was looking at the recipe. I don't want him to find out what I was planning."

The female bergen got the hint and smiled.

"You're going to give this to Branch?"

Poppy's face colored a few shades darker.

"Wha- How…I didn't mention any names!"

Bridget laughed.

"I only guessed, Poppy… Looks like I got it right at my first try though."

The troll queen felt embarrassed. Her bergen friend reached out to her and gave a light pat on the head.

"Don't worry, I promise to keep it a secret."

Poppy sighed and gave her friend a smile.

"Thanks, Bridget. I learned yesterday it's his favorite cake and I wanted to reward him for everything he did for us trolls."

"Aww… That's so sweet." The female bergen remarked. "I'm sure he'd love it. Come on, let's get started..."

Just then, the kettle whistled, signaling that the water had reached its boiling point. The two looked at the direction of the stove and Bridget giggled.

"I guess we can start after I bring the tea to Gristle."

* * *

A new day has started in Bergen Town. The second batch of trolls had just arrived from their trip back to the forest village. Those who stayed at the Troll Tree welcomed the newcomers and helped them unload their things from the cart. Branch stayed true to his word and brought along with him his artillery, along with some of his old traps. The other trolls found this odd but after the survivalist troll explained his reason why he retrieved those things with him, they understood. They became more considerate on his views and had been more open to his suggestions. Some trolls even see him as a potential leader, maybe a king, and be a perfect match for Queen Poppy.

Branch was busy unloading his things from the cart that he failed to notice that the said troll queen was standing nearby. He was startled when she suddenly came into his line of view.

"Gaaah! Poppy?!"

"Hi Branch! Welcome back!"

She immediately went to him to give him a hug. He rolled his eyes, but was smiling all the while, amused by her behavior. He set down his wheelbarrow with his things and gave the pink troll a proper hug.

"It's not hug time yet." Branch joked.

Poppy pulled back and giggled.

"Remember that I told you I decreed that hug time is all the time? So I have all the time in the world to give hugs!"

The survivalist troll laughed at this.

"So… What brings you here, Poppy?"

The troll queen pretended to be shocked.

"What…? Am I not allowed to see my favorite troll?"

Branch snickered.

"Oh, really… I'm your favorite troll now? What qualifies me as one, Your Majesty?"

"Lots of things, Branch! For starters, you're the one brave troll who went with me on a great adventure to save our friends from the bergens! You're smart, resourceful, talented, handsome…"

Poppy trailed off and suddenly blushed when she realized what she just said. The survivalist troll's face colored as well upon hearing the string of compliments coming from the troll queen.

"Well, anyway!" The pink troll tried to change the topic. "I actually came here because I needed help on something. Maybe you can come by my pod later after you're done putting away your things?"

Hearing this caught Branch's attention. He simply nodded. Poppy smiled.

"Great! See you later then."

The queen immediately left.

The turquoise colored troll was a bit puzzled with the queen's behavior but he shrugged it aside for the mean time and continued with storing away his things. He would need to finish storing everything right away so he can meet up with Poppy and check what she needed his help for.

* * *

Branch had just finished storing his belongings and went to Poppy's pod. He looked at the sky, estimating it was already midafternoon. He hurried to the queen's home; she must have been waiting for him for several hours now. He didn't want to cause an inconvenience for her to make her wait so long. As he reached the pod leaf which acted as a door, he knocked to catch the occupant's attention. It wasn't long that he heard footsteps from inside and the pod leaf opened revealing the troll queen. She immediately smiled seeing her visitor.

"Branch, my man, you're right on time!"

The survivalist troll suddenly got a feeling of déjà vu, vaguely recalling that Poppy once said the same thing before.

"Yeah, hiya Poppy… So, you said you needed my help on something?"

The queen nodded and stepped to the side to allow her guest to enter her pod. She then escorted him to a room which Branch had identified as her kitchen. He was puzzled what the queen was up to when she hurriedly went to her table and pulled out a chair.

"Here, have a seat! Make yourself at home."

Branch was a bit hesitant but complied with her wishes.

"What's going on, Poppy? I thought you said you needed my help?" He asked as he sat down on the chair.

"Yes, I do need your help on something. Just sit tight; I'll be right back."

Branch was silently observing the pink troll, wondering what she was doing. He noticed she went to get something from her ice box and then do something by the counter nearby the sink. Soon after, he saw her carrying a tray with dessert plates, forks and a knife; she then proceeded to set them on the table in front of Branch. He raised an eyebrow seeing the plates and the utensils, but he noted she went back to the counter and retrieved a white box. She placed the box beside the tableware and soon afterwards, turned to pay attention to her guest.

"Okay, so this is what I need your help with." Poppy began. "I need your help to finish this and tell me what you think about it."

Branch looked at Poppy then back to the box. He stood to reach for it and then slowly brought his hands to the box lid, carefully removing it to see what's inside. His eyes widened in surprise; he saw a cake coated with vanilla icing and orange sprinkles all over it. There were even candies that looked like orange wedges decorated at the top, indicating what type of cake it was.

"Is this what I think it is...?" Branch spoke with amazement in his tone.

He looked back at Poppy and saw her smiling. She didn't respond but instead, proceeded to take apart one side of the box to get the cake out easily. Once she made sure the cake was out, the pink troll took the knife and started cutting a piece to give it to Branch. He was silently staring at the cake slice; he can clearly see the light orange color on the inside of it. Memories started to flood in his brain; recalling the times his grandma had given him the same type of cake. His thoughts got derailed though when he heard Poppy talk.

"I know it's not your birthday yet, but I thought about making this for you as thanks for everything you did for us. You saved my life during our journey; you helped me get back my colors, giving hope and restoring the colors of our fellow trolls. This isn't much but I hope you like it since you said it was your favorite."

Branch didn't know what to say. The troll queen urged him to taste the cake. He looked back at the said dessert, took a fork, and proceeded to cut a small piece of the slice before bringing it to his lips. He opened his mouth to get a taste of the cake and as soon as the flavor rolled on his tongue, tears started to fall from his eyes. Poppy panicked at his reaction and immediately went to his side.

"Oh my goodness! Branch, are you okay? Does it taste bad? I'm so sorry! I thought it tasted fine when I sampled a little after I baked it. You can spit it out if you don't like it-"

Branch suddenly held Poppy's hand to get her attention and stop rambling. He quickly chewed and swallowed the cake piece so he can speak, while also hurriedly wiping his tears away. When he turned to face her, the pink troll was surprised seeing the warm smile on his face and it made her heart race a little.

"It's delicious. I love it." He responded.

The queen didn't realize she was holding her breath, anticipating his answer. She released it upon hearing his words, relieved to hear his compliments for her cake. She smiled at him.

"Thank you so much, Poppy." Branch spoke. "You don't know how much this means to me."

The troll queen got her breath caught in her throat as she saw how sincere and tender Branch was looking at her. She blushed and tried to look away to hide her embarrassment.

"I... I... Umm..." Poppy stuttered. "You're welcome... I guess?"

Branch chuckled at this. The pink troll playfully pouted and stood, turning away from him. She crossed her arms, pretending to feel indignant.

"Stop making fun of me... I was worried that you thought the cake tasted horrible. You cried even! That isn't a normal reaction when you eat something you claim as delicious-"

The queen paused with her rant when she felt arms around her and brought her to a hug. She knew it was Branch and then she heard him speak.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Poppy. I just got emotional after I tasted the cake; it made me remember my grandma. Thank you for baking it for me, it was good... No, even better than what my grandma made. You can't imagine how much you made me happy with everything that you did..."

The troll queen felt him pull away from her but she still heard him speaking from behind, noting the change of his tone. She turned to look at him, seeing the gloomy expression on his face.

"You did everything to make me happy... But I had hurt you and kept pushing you away for the past several years. I don't deserve your kindness. I don't even deserve to be your friend."

Branch started to turn away. The queen quickly grabbed one of his hands, stopping him from leaving. He slowly turned to face her.

"Branch… Regardless of what you did in the past, we can forget about them and move on. All that matters now is the present. And please stop beating yourself up, you're a good friend and you deserve all the kindness in the world. That's why I baked that cake for you. It's to show how much I appreciate all you've done for us."

Poppy paused, realizing something.

"Speaking of which, you're not done yet in helping me finish the cake. And you were just about to leave when I haven't given you the permission to do so yet!" The troll queen scowled at him. Branch laughed at her expression; oddly he thought she looked adorable while she was trying to be mad at him. He didn't voice this out though.

Poppy knew she couldn't stay mad and she was trying to hold back her giggles. She then pulled the male troll along with her by the hand and had him sit back on his chair. Before the pink troll pulled her hand away so she can get her own slice of cake, she felt Branch tighten his grip on her hand which made her turn to look at him. What she saw melted her heart. He was looking at her tenderly again, wearing a smile that caused Poppy to feel her face heat up. She was surprised though when he pulled her hand closer to him and kissed on the back of it, caressing it afterwards. She blushed heavily the action.

"Thank you, Poppy."

Poppy swore her heart swelled upon hearing this. Although he had thanked her earlier, she knew this time it wasn't only for the orange cake. She understood that it means so much more.

The troll queen reached out to the survivalist troll and gave him a hug; in return of the one he had given earlier.

"Anything for you, Branch. Anything for you."

-End-

* * *

A/N: Finally I'm done! This really took a while to finish, aside from my work and writer's blocks, I was having second thoughts with some of the parts here and I kept revising and editing the whole story. Supposedly there would be some sort of a food fight here with the cake frosting but I didn't include it because it might lead to something mature. (;P)

A friend of mine who read this ahead commented that this isn't as fluffy or romantic as the first chapter. I kind of intended not to make this into a full blown romance story considering they're not dating here yet. So I kind of set this leaning towards light fluff and friendship. But it's pretty clear they'll eventually get to the dating stage. Special thanks to my friend Lyn for providing her comments and suggestions for my stories.

I hope you enjoyed this! I'll be starting with the next story soon for "Yellow". Please bear with me though if it would take some time, life has been a bit hectic for me.


	3. Yellow

Rainbow

* * *

Author's Notes:

I apologize (again) if it took a long time for me to finish and post a new story. I had been busy at work and was also preparing for 2 weddings I had to attend.

But many thanks to those who reviewed, followed, added this story to their favorites! I actually didn't think that people would like this but I'm glad I was proven wrong. You are all awesome! I hope you guys continue supporting these stories even though I take a long time to update. (Hehehe :P)

This story has parts set before, within and after the movie. The pre and post movie parts are based on my personal headcanon so don't quote me on the ages, names, and other things. Also, since there are parts within the movie so there may be possible spoilers (but most probably you guys already watched the movie before coming here to check fanfics XD)

I'd like to point out as well that I haven't read any of the Trolls novels or anything of the sort, but there are mentions of a character or two here that didn't appear in the movie but were included in other stories or deleted scenes from the movie.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. But who knows, maybe I can become filthy rich and buy the rights to Trolls. (Though I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon. I can still dream though right? :D)

But I do have a few OCs included here, so those are owned by me… And also five shirts, a tumbler, and one small sling bag from the Trolls merchandise. XD

* * *

Chapter 3: Yellow

On one fine day in the Forest Troll Village, a group of young troll children were huddled under one of the big mushrooms growing beside the trees holding their pod homes. Most of them were busy working on their coloring books while a few of them enjoyed drawing on their sketchpads. One of the young troll lasses, who was around five years old, had finished coloring a page and held it up to show it to her friends.

"I'm done!" The little pink troll, who also happened to be the princess, exclaimed proudly.

Her friends looked at her work, mildly impressed that she can already color in clean strokes and also work within the lines. They observed though that majority of the color used was the same as her skin. Some smiled while the others giggled at seeing this. The pink troll was a bit offended but curious at their reactions.

"What's so funny? Does it look bad?" She timidly asked.

Her friends shook their heads no. Another young female troll, who was red skinned with orange hair and was also around the same age as the pink one, spoke up.

"It's not bad, Poppy. But there's too much pink!"

The other troll children nodded, agreeing with their friend's comment.

Poppy turned the coloring book to see her own work and noticed she did use too much pink on the picture she colored. She gave a small smile of her own.

"Huh… I did use too much pink. Sorry, I love pink very much! It's my favorite color!"

"Us too…!" Two young female trolls with conjoined hair remarked.

"Also blue…"

"And green…"

"And purple…"

"And red…"

The twins kept alternating in saying their favorite colors and the others shared theirs as well. Most of them based their favorites from their own skin colors, except for one.

"What about you, Creek; what's your favorite color?" Poppy asked the purple troll in their group.

The said troll was quiet the whole time, simply listening to everyone else during the whole exchange. He smiled when his attention was called out, being asked the same question.

"Well… I love many colors, but I think my most favorite is yellow too, like Smidge."

The rest of the troll children were surprised hearing this. They expected that the young yogi would say that his favorite is his own skin color.

"Why yellow, Creek? Oh, is that why you started wearing yellow pants?" A blue six year old troll named Biggie asked.

The purple troll nodded.

"My mentor, Cybil, taught me about aura colors a few weeks ago. Yellow in the language of aura colors means creativity, playfulness, power, intelligence, curiosity…"

The purple ten year old troll trailed off when he noticed that the younger trolls had questioning looks on their faces. He got the desired effect; he intended to start off a bit technical with his terms to make him sound intelligent. Creek cleared his throat, brought a fist to cover his lips and hide a smirk, and tried a different approach to explain things a little simpler.

"I like the color yellow because it is a bright and happy color. You guys want to go out and play when it's bright and sunny, right?"

"Yes!" All the younger trolls surrounding him responded enthusiastically. Creek smiled.

"It is sort of the same thing that I feel when I see the color yellow. I feel happy and alive. It's a positive color. That's why I love it."

"Wow! You're so smart, Creek. I didn't know colors mean something." Poppy commented.

The rest of the troll children smiled and exclaimed their agreements. They were surprised though when they heard another voice nearby.

"Will you guys knock it off with the shouting? You'll never know if there's anything nearby that may just scoop you up and eat you."

The group looked towards the source of the voice and saw a young gray troll standing a few feet from them. It was clear that the eleven year old was out foraging for food as there were a few berries peeking out from his backpack; even holding one in his hands. Branch just happened to pass by when he heard the younger trolls were being loud.

The children frowned at his reprimand. He was spoiling their fun as usual. But Poppy just brushed this off and approached him with a smile. She brought her coloring book with her and showed the page she had worked on earlier to the gray troll.

"Look Branch, we're coloring!"

The said troll simply looked at the page with a blank expression on his face, and looked back at the troll princess.

"If you're just coloring, you guys shouldn't be so loud. What if a predator is nearby… or worse… a bergen! What will you guys do?"

Poppy scowled at this.

"I don't think there's anything out there…" She responded.

Branch huffed, feeling exasperated.

"But what if there was… You kids would be food by now! You guys better be careful around these parts."

"Chill, mate… We're safe right now and we were just talking about our favorite colors. There's no need to get worked up about this." Creek intervened.

Hearing this, the troll princess had renewed energy and started chatting up a storm. She was excitedly telling the survivalist troll about their favorite colors and ended up asking for his as well.

"I don't have any favorite colors." Branch replied.

He pointedly looked at the aspiring guru troll, recalling about what Poppy said that Creek loved the color yellow. The gray troll smirked at him.

"But my LEAST favorite is the color yellow. If you must know, although yellow is a happy color, in some cases, it also means cowardice and betrayal. So it's a good color for scaredy-cats and traitors. I guess that's a fitting color for you, huh, Creek?" Branch commented with a smug look on his face.

The rest of the troll children were surprised but the yogi remained silent for a while. It appeared that Creek wasn't the only one who knew about the language of colors.

"I don't know what you're talking about, mate." The purple troll eventually spoke up, forcing a smile on his lips to hide his grimace.

"Well, that's for me to know and for you to find out. I better leave now, still got some stuff to do. So you kids can run along and color more if you want."

The gray troll walked away before anyone could stop him. The other children looked at Creek; he was just standing there with an unreadable look on his face. It appeared that he was in deep thought. It was only when Poppy reached out to him and touched his arm that he broke out of his stupor.

"Creek… You okay?" She asked. The rest of her friends went closer, wondering what just happened with his interaction with Branch.

The aspiring guru troll simply gave them all a smile to ease their worries. He reached out to the troll princess, patting her head gently.

"Everything's fine, Poppy… Don't worry about it. You know how Branch is. It's best to leave him alone and never take his word seriously."

The pink troll blushed when he was gently caressing her head and silently nodded, accepting his response.

"Let's all get back to coloring shall we?" The purple troll addressed to the other troll children.

They looked at each other and regarded the older troll before they complied and went back to their coloring books and sketch pads.

It didn't take long for everything to be back to normal, but at the back of Creek's mind, he was still bothered with what happened earlier with the grumpy gray troll. He wasn't aware though that Poppy was observing him, and she was still concerned. Although she was curious, she didn't want to ask the purple troll anymore about this because she knew he will just be diverting the issue. She opted to go to the other source to get her answers. She remembered that she was planning a slumber party the following day, maybe she can get the other troll to come and ask him then.

* * *

The following day after the incident, the survivalist troll set out to gather sticks to store in his bunker. He was walking around, picking up the small pieces of wood, and storing them in a bag he was carrying. A little later he stopped; he had sworn he heard some rustling from the tall grass nearby and he suddenly became alert and aware of his surroundings. Branch concentrated and tried to locate the sound to know where it was coming from. He heard it again soon afterwards and he took out one of the sticks he just picked up to use it as a weapon if needed. The rustling drew closer and he was about to hit whatever would come out but stopped when he saw pink hair stuck out from one of the grass blades. Soon, a young female pink troll stepped out. She smiled when she saw him.

"Branch, here you are! Glad I finally found you."

The gray troll felt slightly relieved that it wasn't a predator that was lurking about, but he wasn't happy when the young troll princess found him.

"What do you want, Poppy?" Branch asked with annoyance in his voice.

Either she didn't detect the tone of his voice or chose to ignore it; the survivalist troll hadn't got a clue. She just continued smiling, unfazed by his rude approach. She reached into her hair and took out a small yellow card and presented it to him.

"I came here to give you this!"

She opened the card and there were cut out trolls that popped out, seeming to be engaged in a pillow fight. The card says, 'You're invited to our Slumber party!'

The gray troll looked at it long and hard. He then slowly reached out and got the card from the princess. She was thrilled, hoping that Branch will accept her invitation. But her excitement died when the grumpy troll threw the card to his left, landing in the grass blades nearby. Poppy looked at him wide-eyed in surprise, but soon she felt downcast for what he had done. He was about to step away from her when he suddenly heard her speak.

"I-I'm sorry. Was it because I used yellow paper when I made the card? I didn't have any other color left, I used it all up when I was making the other invitations and I thought that it's okay and –"

"Stop… Just stop it." Branch cut her off.

Poppy did as she was told and stopped talking. She looked at the older troll. She saw him face her.

"Look, it's not got anything to do with the color, okay? I'd rather be home alone rather than be in a party with loud kids."

The pink troll stared at him in wonder.

"Oh, I thought you hated the card because of the color."

But this didn't ease up the princess' feelings of her invitation being rejected.

"If you're not coming to the party, can I ask you something?" She continued.

The gray troll huffed irritatingly.

"What?"

"Do you hate Creek?" The princess asked.

Branch got caught off guard with the question. But a dark expression appeared on his face and he didn't hesitate to answer.

"Yes."

"Why?" The young female troll continued asking.

"Just mind your own business Poppy." He started walking away. The pink troll tried to catch up with him but he was too fast.

"Branch, wait!"

It was too late, he was already far gone and the tall grass blades hid him from view.

The troll princess stood there looking at the direction that Branch went to and pondered about what the gray troll confirmed. He did hate Creek but wasn't clear as to the exact reason why. She walked towards the direction heading to the troll village, thinking what transpired with the grumpy troll all the way.

* * *

Several hours later that same day, night time fell. Most of the trolls were already heading to their respective homes to have supper or get some rest. In one area, just a few meters from the village and away from anyone's view, a lone gray troll was busy searching for something by the tall grass blades surrounding a clearing.

'Where is it?' He thought to himself as he was continuously combing through the glass carrying a small lantern to give light. A little later, he saw something yellow peeking out behind one of the blades.

Branch went closer to check and he confirmed that it was indeed the invitation card Poppy gave him earlier. He picked it up, dusted off some dirt, and looked at it, appreciating every detail that the princess added to make the card look beautiful. For a five year old, she was pretty talented and skillful with arts and crafts, impressing the gray troll. But he would never admit this to anyone out loud, most especially to Poppy.

He recalled what happened earlier that day when the pink troll brought him the card and he gave a heavy sigh. She asked him if he hated Creek and he affirmed this.

'Who wouldn't hate him for what he had done…' The survivalist troll thought to himself with anger.

 _When Branch was still a young troll and had his true colors, he was one of the well-loved troll children at that time and many of the trolls who were around his age admired him. He was adventurous, fun, intelligent, and smart for his age which made everyone like him. Creek also looked up to him and became his closest friend. At least, that was what Branch thought at first._

 _Everything changed ever since Branch's grandmother, Rosiepuff died. Branch was just around five years old back then. When he lost his colors due to grief and became gray, everyone was seeing him differently, including the children. At first they felt pity for him and tried to help but he was mean and he kept pushing them away. Instead of sympathy, it was replaced with annoyance and fear towards the gray troll child. As the months passed by, majority no longer cared for the lad and stayed away from him. Despite this, there were still a few trolls left who were truly concerned for him. The Troll Tree's King Peppy, his wife Queen Primrose, and a few of their kingdom's elders, who also happened to be close friends of Rosiepuff, continued to help Branch although he would usually refuse their aid._

 _The royal couple was infuriated when they first found out that the Bergen chef took one of the trolls outside of Trollstice. It was unheard of, considering the agreement that former Queen Pippi had compromised with the Bergen royalty during the last few years of her reign before Peppy took over. With a heavy heart, they had arranged that only a limited number of trolls can be taken once a year, which is on Trollstice, to avoid complete extinction. Eventually the royal troll couple found out that the bergen's queen was pregnant and somehow that day when Rosiepuff was taken, the expecting mother was craving for a troll. But this was not a good enough reason for someone to be taken outside of Trollstice. An agreement was an agreement and the bergens had violated this._

 _King Peppy and Queen Primrose tried their best to explain and comfort Branch about the situation but the gray lad didn't care much about the royal couple's sentiments. There was nothing they can do unless they can bring his grandmother back from the dead. Branch just wanted to be alone and not be tied to anyone else as much as possible. He believed that if there was anyone he would start caring about, bad things would happen to that troll. He even distanced himself from his friends, including Creek._

 _Apparently, the purple troll never minded that the newly gray troll had stayed away from them. In fact, he was kind of glad it happened. True, he felt sorry for Rosiepuff and was a 'close' friend to Branch before. But instead of admiration, he was actually jealous of the troll lad because of how he was appreciated by everyone in the kingdom. Creek initially intended to become his friend so he can get similar attention as with the other troll. Although he was indeed well-known, he was tagged only as 'Branch's friend' instead being recognized as his own self. The purple troll took this situation of the gray troll to his advantage and tried to find ways to be acknowledged much better compared to his 'friend'._

 _About a couple of months before Trollstice, the Troll kingdom celebrated the planting of the royal couple's first troll seed, bearing either a future prince or princess for their people. The king and queen took turns to take care of the seedling even before it started to sprout; but other trolls would also volunteer to watch over it. One of which who frequently did this was Creek himself despite his young age to impress the other trolls. Surprisingly though and to no one's knowledge, Branch would also take care of the sapling at night, to make sure no critter, Bergen, or any natural element brought harm to it. The only one who discovered this was Queen Primrose herself. When she revealed herself to the lad, she asked him to protect her child, in case something happened to either her or her husband. Branch insisted nothing will happen to them, but he still promised to protect their offspring._

 _That joy of having a new life come forth to the world was replaced with grief on Trollstice as the Troll Tree's queen was taken as one of the sacrifices. It was one of the most tragic Trollstice because aside from losing Queen Primrose, they also lost almost a half of their population under the Bergen King's request. King Peppy had heard from rumors that the reason why it was done so was because of the King's wife dying after giving birth. The newly born prince was well and healthy, but the queen lost too much blood during the delivery, taking away her life. To ease the king's pain along with the rest of his people for their queen's death, he had ordered their chef to pick more trolls than what was usually taken for the holiday so his royal subjects would experience twice the happiness after their loss._

' _So… It's an eye for an eye, ay…? Just because they lost their queen, we had to lose ours?'_

 _How devastated King Peppy was. But he recalled about what the rumors said, that the Bergen queen died after giving birth to their new prince._

' _A new prince was born. That's another royal mouth to feed with a troll. And that troll might be… my child.'_

 _The king scowled at the thought._

' _No. I cannot let this happen. Not anymore. I am sick and tired of living in fear, along with my people, when that cursed day comes around. Another year and another batch of trolls get eaten… for what? The bergens' happiness…? How about ours? I've had enough of their selfishness. Taking my wife was the last straw. Primrose asked me to take care of our child and our people… and that is what I am going to do.'_

 _King Peppy hurriedly went to their kingdom's meeting room where he discussed with the elder trolls who were his advisers as well. He mentioned about the plan to escape Bergen town which his wife had proposed to him before they even had their sapling. The king became regretful, he should have listened to her back then but he had hesitations because of his fears. What if they couldn't find a suitable place to live in? What if they were putting more lives at risk when escaping from Bergen town and exposing themselves to the dangers of the forest? But at that moment, he had to cast those fears aside. They should already plan an escape route and find a perfect place to rebuild their kingdom._

 _A few months had passed and the whole Troll kingdom was looking forward to the birth of a new prince or princess. When one of the sitters noticed a slight movement from the bud's petals, she immediately called for the king and everyone else to witness the blooming flower. It didn't take long that the bud fully blossomed, revealing a tiny pink troll baby within. King Peppy had tears in his eyes seeing his child. He was gifted with a baby girl! How he wished that his wife was right there with him to share that special moment. Branch saw the troll baby from a distance, thinking that the child was beautiful. To his surprise, his heart warmed at the sight of her, despite of him feeling gloomy most of the time. As he heard the king declare that the princess' name was Poppy, he smiled a little thinking that it suited her. But as he saw his 'friend' Creek approaching her and blatantly expressed his admiration towards the newborn. Seeing this made the gray troll scowl._

 _It wasn't long that Trollstice was just around the corner again. The Troll King along with his loyal subjects worked hard for about a whole year to make sure that the escape plans would be successful. For the past several months, the trolls worked hard to dig the tunnel. Others helped sculpted the troll dummies they will be using as their replacements on the day to trick the bergens. When the tunnel was completed, a small group of trolls had to go on an excursion to look for a potential location for their new home. It took another few months before Trollstice when the group was able to find a potential place. Immediately after finding it, they made sure to create a map and retrace their steps before heading home and inform their king about it. As soon as he heard this, he himself set out to inspect it. When King Peppy saw the location, he smiled and was relieved that at last, they indeed found the perfect place to rebuild their civilization away from those horrid creatures._

 _On the day before the dreaded holiday, the trolls made their final preparations and had the wooden dummies placed in their respective pods. They all gathered in their assembly room to go through the final plans and reminders during the trip. The king had initiated a prayer to their ancestors and their sacred Troll Tree to guide them and protect them during their journey. After they had taken their final meal in the tree, the king let his people rest for a short while to recharge their bodies for the long trip ahead. After a few hours, everyone had already set off to leave the Troll Tree and Bergen Town for good, hurrying to the root tunnels to make their escape. But because the tunnel was quite long, it took several hours for those trolls to reach the area just outside of the town. When morning came, the bergens started to gather around the Troll Tree to get a taste of those little colorful creatures. But when they realized that the trolls disappeared, the bergens became furious and tried to look for them. Unfortunately for those giants, but fortunately for those colorful creatures, they never caught up to those trolls. Because of this, they diverted their anger to their chef instead; whom they thought was the reason why their source of happiness got away._

 _Later that day when the sun was about to set, King Peppy decided to set up camp somewhere in the forest. He had appointed some of the trolls to help in putting up the tents, while others gathered sticks for fire, food and water, and others were appointed for guard duty. Once everything was set and everyone was able to eat, those trolls who weren't on guard duty started to head to their respective tents and prepared to get settled in for the night. Branch wasn't feeling sleepy yet so he opted to walk a little ways from the campsite and spotted a rock big enough to sit on and ponder about what has happened so far. He was too focused on his thoughts that he was startled when a slightly smaller mint colored troll lad with forest green hair suddenly appeared in front of him, coming out from tall grass blades close by. He had a panicked look on his face and was clearly out of breath as he struggled to get some air into his lungs. The gray troll recognized the child._

" _Kale?"_

 _The said troll looked up and saw Branch, his face shifting to a combination of fear and a bit of relief._

" _Branch!" Kale suddenly grabbed on to the gray child's arms, almost making him lose his balance while the younger troll tried to catch his attention._

" _You need to help me… help them! They're… Creek was…"_

 _Oh no._

" _What happened, Kale? Just calm down and tell me."_

 _The mint colored troll took a deep breath and spoke up._

" _We did some exploring heading that way…" Kale pointed to the direction where he came from and continued speaking._

"… _and then Creek accidentally walked into a huge spider web and got stuck there. Ginger, Lake and I tried to get him free but we saw a big spider slowly coming down from the tree tops, getting closer to us. We started to move away but Creek was yelling at us to help him. Ginger and Lake started to take rocks and kept throwing at the big scary thing. I ran away instead to get some help."_

 _Branch had a morbid look on his face as he was listening to what the other troll said. But he had to act fast or those kids will die!_

" _Kale, listen. You go back to the campsite and look for King Peppy and any other adult who can help. Bring them to where Creek and the others are. Got it?"_

 _The younger troll nodded and hurriedly made his way back to the campsite. The gray troll took his small backpack with his survival gear and took off to where Kale pointed to. It wasn't hard to find the other troll children, he can hear them shouting from a distance. Branch followed the voices and arrived at the scene. He was horrified at the sight, seeing the giant spider almost near Creek but was hissing towards the two other troll children who were continuously throwing rocks at the creature. The gray troll wasted no time and hurried to the two, took out his sling shot, and hit the spider on one of its eyes. The large arachnid gave a loud screech, making it fall on the ground on its back just a little ways behind the web Creek was trapped in. The group of children were wide eyed, surprised at the stunt the gray troll performed._

 _Seeing the spider down, Branch immediately ran over to the purple troll trapped on the web and pulled out a knife from his pack. The other children gasped at this, even Creek got tense upon seeing the sharp object. He became still and silent though as the gray troll approached. When Branch got near, the purple troll closed his eyes shut, fearing what will be done to him. A little later Creek realized nothing was happening directly to him and felt the web getting loose. When he opened his eyes, he realized that Branch had just cut the surrounding web where he got stuck on so at least he can move._

" _Branch? You…" Creek suddenly stopped when he noticed the movement from behind the gray troll. The other troll children also spotted this and became frightened. They realized that the spider managed to get back up and head towards them._

 _As Branch was about to turn around to see what they were looking at, he felt someone push him to the ground and heard running from behind. He realized it was Creek._

" _Come on guys! Let's go!" The purple troll called out to the other children._

" _But what about…" An indigo colored troll with sky blue colored hair named Lake spoke up but was cut off by Creek by dragging him and Ginger out of the area._

 _Upon realizing thy all left, Branch looked up, spotting the spider walking near to him. All he felt at that moment was intense fear coursed through his veins._

 _Was that it? Will his life end there?_

 _He was about to accept his fate when all of a sudden he was wrapped around with hair and being pulled away from the spider. He looked down and noticed he was encased in pink hair. Following the source of the hair, he spotted King Peppy. When the gray child was already safe in the king's presence, one of the older trolls shot his own hair and hit the spider like a whip, making it move back to a cave which turned out to be a wide mouth of another monster. Branch looked at the attack with wonder, thinking he should practice with his hair to move like that in the future. He was disrupted from his thoughts though when he heard King Peppy calling out to him._

" _Branch! Are you all right, child?" He asked. The said troll child simply nodded his head in response. Panic was replaced with relief on King Peppy's face._

" _I'm glad. Good thing Kale was able to tell us in time and we ran here as fast as we could. Seeing Creek and the other children confirmed we were in the right path."_

 _When the king mentioned Creek's name, Branch was seething from the inside._

 _Why did he push him and leave him there? Was Creek really that selfish that he wanted to save himself and resort to having another troll die in his place?_

 _On the day after the incident, Branch found the opportunity to confront the purple troll. He had been plagued with thoughts the night prior which made him get less sleep. The gray troll wanted to know what made Creek do what he did. When the trolls took a break to rest before continuing with their journey to their new home, Branch noticed Creek discreetly leave the group. Looking around to see if anyone was watching and avoid any attention sent his way, the gray child quietly left to go after the other troll. He didn't need to search for long as he immediately saw the purple troll sitting cross-legged beside a small pond nearby. Branch remained quiet as he walked over; facing the other lad's back while keeping a safe distance between them._

" _Creek…" The gray troll spoke up, but was not yet acknowledged by the other child._

" _Why?" Branch continued._

 _The purple troll remained still but he responded._

" _Why what, mate?"_

 _The gray child frowned._

" _Why did you leave me to be killed by that spider? Do you hate me that much that you want me dead? I thought we were friends!"_

 _Creek snickered._

" _Friends... Are you sure?" The purple troll stood and turned to look at Branch._

" _I never considered us as 'friends'." Creek continued. "Everybody loved you, Branch. You hogged all of the attention. Everyone else, even my parents, kept comparing me to you, wanting me to be like you. 'Branch is such a good little troll! Branch is very smart! Branch is talented! Maybe you can be like him, Creek?' Yadda-yadda-yadda… No more... I don't want to be compared to you. I don't even like you!"_

" _But Creek… Why did you come to me… and act like you're my friend?"_

" _Other trolls notice you Branch. And I thought, maybe I'll be popular too if I keep tagging along with you. It did work but no one remembers me as 'Creek'. They would say, 'hey Branch's friend!' when they call out to me or talk about me. They still remember Branch… not Creek."_

 _The gray troll looked hurt and appeared to be much grayer than before._

" _So you used me…" Branch whispered but the purple troll still heard this and smirked._

" _Yep! But I don't need you anymore. Since you're all gray and grumpy now, no one will like you. They'll like me instead! No one will care anyway if you're dead, right? Leaving you with that spider should have been okay! The only troll who cared about you already die-"_

 _Creek wasn't able to finish what he said as Branch punched him in anger. The force was strong enough to bring the child to the ground. The purple troll was surprised and caressed gently his injured cheek. He can see the other troll still seething in rage and was breathing heavily. But unfortunately for the gray troll, it was right at that moment that the other troll children who came looking for Creek arrived and saw their friend on the ground while the other troll was looking angry with a clenched fist. They can already see a bruise starting to form on the purple troll's cheek._

 _The situation was misinterpreted by the children so they hurried to take Creek away and tell the older trolls about what happened. This was a clear win on the purple child's side as the elders accused of Branch being a bully. Although the gray troll tried his best to explain what really happened, none believed him. King Peppy tried his best to understand but even he couldn't help feeling the disappointment towards the lad. After this incident, Branch tried his best to stay away, to avoid hurting anybody and being hurt in return._

Branch looked at the invitation in his hands and carefully placed it in his hair. With heaviness in his heart, he went back to his bunker recalling the pain of betrayal from someone he thought was his friend. He knew that no matter how many years would pass, the ache would never go away.

* * *

Several years had passed and those troll children already grew up to be teenagers. One particular day, Poppy was heading to a crafts store to buy more glue, glitters and felt paper. She was going to work on a new set of invitations for their upcoming summer party. As the troll princess arrived and got inside the crafts store, she noticed a familiar purple troll standing on one corner, engrossed at looking at various types of threads and yarns. Poppy got excited all of a sudden and walked over immediately to her friend. The other troll noticed her right away and gave her a smile. The princess could have sworn her heart skipped a beat and felt a blush rising to her cheeks. She gave a bit of a shy smile before greeting the purple troll.

"Hi Creek… How are you?"

"I'm doing great, Poppy. Thanks for asking… and how about you?"

"Simply wonderful… I just came here to get some art materials for the invitations I'll be making for the celebration in the next few days." The princess answered.

"Is that for the summer party?" Creek asked.

"Yes! It'll be a blast I'm sure of it! You better come, Creek."

The teenage yogi gave a small chuckle.

"Of course, anything for you, love…" He then gave a bow, reaching out to Poppy's hand and giving a kiss on the back of it.

The troll princess swore she could feel her face growing warmer and coloring several shades darker after what he said and what he did. She gave a small giggle to ease her embarrassment.

"I'm glad…" Poppy answered timidly while looking away with a small smile. She didn't notice though the smirk on the yogi's lips. She tried instead to change the topic though as she was getting more embarrassed.

"So… What brings you here?" The princess asked the purple troll.

"Well…" Creek started. "Cybil wanted me to teach young trolls how to do yoga and meditation so I'm working on making mats for the kids. I'm just confused what color of yarns or threads I should be using, and also for the cloths."

The pink troll brightened at hearing this.

"Oh, that's super awesome! Hmm… let me think… Oh! Yoga deals with relaxation and peace right? Maybe you can use cool colors like blues, greens or purples. They're quite soothing to the eyes."

The purple troll considered this and grinned at Poppy.

"That's brilliant! I better check colors like those. Thanks Poppy!" Creek immediately gave the princess a tight hug, even if it wasn't hug time yet. This made the pink troll blush again, but gladly returned the hug eventually.

"No problem, Creek! I'll be glad to help you get the things you need too!"

Unbeknownst to the two, they were being watched by a gray troll from one of the windows nearby. Branch was just about to get inside the store to get some supplies for his cupboard project in his bunker when he noticed the two talking and then Creek embracing the princess. Seeing this made the troll clench his fists and he began to seethe with anger. If he had been there earlier, he might witness something else that could have made him enraged even more.

'That no good Creek…' The survivalist troll hissed to himself. For Branch, it was clear that Creek was manipulating Poppy into liking him. The gray troll knew that the yogi wanted to be well-loved by all, so going out with the princess makes him both renowned and possibly become part of the royal family.

How badly he wanted to barge in and punch the purple troll in the face. But regardless of him wanting to inflict physical pain to the young yogi, he had to restrain himself. It was just a waste of time and effort. Plus, Poppy would be upset with him.

He suddenly stopped upon realizing his train of thought. Why would he care about what Poppy thinks?

Speaking of Poppy, Branch looked through the window again and noticed that the Creek was holding her hand while they were looking around the shop. The survivalist troll was downright peeved at the sight and wanted to tear off that arm linked to the princess' hand. This reaction again surprised the gray troll; he has no clue as to why he was mad at the purple yogi because of his advances to the princess.

He got too preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice that the two trolls he was spying inside were about to step out of the store. He panicked when he heard the door open and hurriedly hid behind a corner of the shop. He took a peek, careful not to get caught, and saw Creek and Poppy walk out the store. Branch's ears twitched when he heard them continue their conversation mentioning his name.

"Wait, why are you still planning to give an invitation to Branch?" Creek asked his companion. "No offense, Poppy, but you know how he reacts to your invitations. And you work so hard on those too."

"Yes, I know." The princess responded. "But I hope that one day he will accept my invitations. That's why no matter how many times he refuses or destroys them, I will never give up inviting him to parties or events. I consider him a friend and I don't want him left out from all the fun! I really want to cheer him up."

Hearing this surprised the gray troll. She considered him as a friend even how mean and rude he was to her? She was inviting him not out of pity but because she wanted him to have fun? To be… happy…? He was starting to look at her in a new light. But… he knew he couldn't be completely happy. And being close to the princess might put her life at risk… just like what happened to his grandmother. He couldn't bear to lose someone else he loves. His eyes widened at the thought.

Love…? He… truly… loves her? This realization dawned upon him. But instead of being joyous of finding someone to love, Branch became even more worried.

'I cannot let anything happen to her. I have to stay away, be meaner to her if necessary just so she will be out of harm's way because of me. Nothing good comes out of being with me.'

The survivalist troll got too engrossed with his thoughts; he failed to notice Poppy and Creek already left the area. Upon realizing their absence, he stepped out from his hiding spot and looked towards the direction the two trolls headed to. He let out a heavy sigh.

'I'm really sorry, Poppy.'

Branch then turned, heading inside the shop.

* * *

"I'm selling you out."

As simple as those words sounded, it felt like the world fell on everyone present who heard it. It didn't take long for the troll princess to react; she immediately stretched out her hair to choke the traitor whom she thought had been their most trusted friend. Having witnessed this made everyone else surprised at Poppy's actions when she had never been seen that angry to the point she started to hurt someone else. But Branch was actually feeling satisfied at her reaction, crossing his arms and giving a smirk towards the traitor's way.

'Serves him right…' He thought.

"You better explain yourself, Creek!" The troll princess demanded.

As the purple troll proceeded to tell what had happened which resulted to his betrayal, Branch looked at the troll with contempt, hardly surprised at the action the yogi had taken. He was right. Creek couldn't be trusted – at all.

"No, Creek… Please don't do this." Poppy pleaded. The gray troll can hear the pain in her voice and felt his heart clench at her agony.

The yogi then responded. "Believe me. I wish there was some other 'me-not-getting-eaten' way…"

"But there isn't." The Bergen chef added while sharpening her knives.

"And now I have to live with this for the rest of my life." Creek continued as he went closer to the princess.

"At least you get to die with a clear conscience. So in a way, you could say…" He crossed his arms and shrugged. "…I'm doing this for you."

Creek reached out to cup her face into the palm of his hand. The survivalist troll was again boiling with rage and had to do everything in his power to control his temper. But he didn't want to do anything yet as his actions may put the princess in danger. They then noticed the purple troll release Poppy's face and reached into her hair to take out her cowbell. He then gave her a boop on the nose with the bell's stick. Branch then realized what he was up to. Creek didn't know the exact location of the other trolls so he was going to lure them out instead, misleading them to think it was Poppy calling out for them using her bell. He was about to stretch his hair again to grab the traitor but the chef already took Creek out of their reach and placed him on her shoulder. Soon afterwards, she took the cage and transferred the trolls into a large cooking pot. As they heard her speak again, a chill ran up their spines, making them shiver in fear.

"Let's go, Creek. You still have trolls to gather."

They can hear her footsteps as she walked away, giving out that loud horrid laugh as she left. The trolls inside the pot looked at each other with grim looks on their faces, all thinking the same thing…

'What are we going to do now?'

* * *

"You were right, Branch. The world isn't all cupcakes and rainbows."

Upon hearing these words uttered by the pink princess, her color gradually lost its saturation and turned gray, to the horror of all trolls surrounding her.

'No… No… NO! This isn't happening! She can't be gray!' Branch was shouting in his head.

But it wasn't the worst thing that happened. He took notice that the other trolls started to lose color too.

'NO! This can't be?! That no good Creek… He caused this! He caused all of this! If he hadn't betrayed us… if he hadn't been a coward and only thought about himself… we would have… she could have… I have to do something for Poppy… for everyone else, but… what?'

Branch was thinking long and hard what he had to do.

'Grandma… please, help me…'

Suddenly in the dark recesses of his mind, a bright yellow light shone through. He then swore he heard a voice, a very familiar voice… a voice he knew he heard in his childhood…

' _Sing to her, Branch… Sing…'_

He knew it was his grandmother's voice. She wanted him to sing, and that was what he was going to do. He took a deep breath and sang, after so many years of forbidding himself in doing so.

 _You with the sad eyes…_

The unfamiliar singing voice caught everyone's attention, including Poppy's. To their surprise, they saw it was Branch who was singing.

 _Don't be discouraged…_

He approached the troll princess, cupping her cheek in the palm of his hand to make her look at him as he tried to reach her heart with his song.

 _Oh I realize_

 _It's hard to take courage…_

 _In a word full of people_

 _You can lose sight of it all_

 _The darkness inside you_

 _Can make you feel so small…_

The gentle ding of Poppy's hug time bracelet chimed and the survivalist troll opened his arms to princess, offering her a hug. To his dismay, she refused him and looked away while covering her bracelet. But that didn't discourage Branch to stop singing. He can hear the dings of the other trolls' bracelets as he continued the song.

 _Show me a smile then_

 _Don't be unhappy_

 _Can't remember when_

 _I last saw you laughing_

 _This world makes you crazy_

 _And you've taken all you can bear_

 _Just call me up 'coz I will always be there…_

And then, something amazing happened.

 _And I see your true colors_

 _Shining through…_

The princess' colors began to appear, starting from her feet until it gradually spread throughout her body.

 _I see your true colors_

 _And that's why I love you…_

Hearing this surprised the pink troll and she immediately turned to face the gray troll serenading to her. She smiled at him tenderly. He smiled back. Soon after, she began to sing with him.

 _So don't be afraid_

 _To let them show…_

It was then that Branch's colors started to show, to everyone's amazement.

 _Your true colors_

 _True colors_

 _Are beautiful…_

The two trolls started to dance and continue with their song. Without them noticing, the other trolls surrounding them started to gain back their own colors, watching on with hope at Poppy and Branch. As the last note of the song died, every troll looked at each other with happiness in their eyes. To make up for the missed hug time a few minutes earlier, each troll embraced another, including Branch as he joined in to wrap his arms around the pink princess and she reciprocated the gesture. Soon after, they pulled apart but still holding each other's hands.

"Thank you." Poppy spoke up.

"No. Thank you." The former gray troll responded.

"For what…?" The princess asked.

"For showing me how to be…" Branch shrugged his shoulders and gave a small smile.

"Happy…"

Hearing this surprised the pink troll. But she became delighted with the news.

"Really…? You're finally happy?"

But the wide smile turned into a frown with an eyebrow raised as Poppy looked at the other troll questioningly.

"Now…?"

"I think so…" The survivalist troll began. "Happiness is inside of all of us, right? Sometimes… you just need someone to help you find it."

The troll princess gave a loving smile upon hearing his response. Just then, a young female troll approached her.

"What are we going to do now, Princess Poppy?"

The said troll looked to the child and replied, "I don't know… But I know we're not giving up."

She turned to face Branch again, seeing him with a wide smile in assurance to her response.

* * *

"Happiness isn't something you put inside; it's already there! Sometimes… you just need someone to help you find it." Poppy spoke to all the bergens within the dining hall, trying to get through to them the concept of happiness.

"Can I really be happy?" One bergen started to ask.

"I wanna be happy!" Another one exclaimed.

"And me!"

"Sign me up!" The other bergens started yelling one after the other.

"What about me?" One of the guards also asked, wanting to be included.

"And me, me!"

"Do you really think I can be happy?" The bergen from the bib shop inquired.

"Of course!" The pink troll affirmed. "It's inside you… It's inside of all of us!"

She looked back at Branch and she saw him nod at her, agreeing to what she said.

"And I don't just think it… I feel it!" Poppy continued. She then started singing and dancing to the music.

 _I got this feeling_

 _Inside my bones_

 _It goes electric wavy_

 _When I turn it on_

Branch then decided to join in.

 _And if you want it_

 _Inside your soul_

 _Just open up your heart_

 _Let music take control_

 _I've got that_

 _Sunshine in my pocket_

 _Got that good soul in my feet_

 _I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops_

 _Ooh!_

 _I can't take my eyes up off it_

 _Moving so phenomenally_

 _Room on lock the way we rock it_

 _So don't stop_

Poppy's friends began to sing and dance as well.

 _Under the lights_

 _When everything goes_

 _Nowhere to hide_

 _When I'm getting you close_

 _When we move_

 _Well you already know_

 _So just imagine_

 _Just imagine_

 _Just imagine_

Their fellow trolls jumped in from the chandeliers above them and joined in to the song and dance number started by the pink princess.

 _Nothing I can see but you_

 _When you dance, dance, dance_

 _Feeling good, good creeping up on you_

 _So just dance, dance, dance_

 _Come on!_

The trolls coaxed the bergens to dance along and a few started to move to the music.

 _All those things I shouldn't do_

 _But you dance, dance, dance_

 _And ain't nobody leaving soon_

 _So keep dancing_

 _Can't stop the feeling!_

 _So just dance, dance, dance_

 _Can't stop the feeling!_

 _So just dance, dance, dance_

 _Can't stop the feeling! Woo!_

 _So just dance, dance, dance_

 _Can't stop the feeling! Yeah!_

 _So keep dancing_

All bergens were already dancing and were finally feeling joyous. In celebration, they pulled off their bibs and threw it up in the air. The chef, being frustrated that her plan failed, took upon herself to try and kill the trolls who ruined everything for her. Branch, Poppy and the others were so preoccupied with their dancing that they didn't notice the evil chef approaching them, holding knives and about to stab them. Fortunately, Bridget, the scullery maid, noticed and she was able to stop the chef by throwing a wooden spoon at her. Because of the distraction, Poppy's friends threw off the chef by having lemon juice squeezed into her eyes, tripping her into the bergen's troll pot and lighting it up while she was being wheeled out of the castle and away from Bergen Town along with the traitor, Creek.

As soon as they were good as gone, Poppy initiated again the celebratory dance and soon she was accompanied by Branch himself. She along with the rest of the trolls and the bergens, danced and sang until all of Bergen Town was filled with color and the Troll Tree came to life after all those years. When the princess along with her friends continued dancing on top of a large mushroom underneath the tree, she didn't notice that her father, King Peppy, was approaching her carrying a leaf crown. He soon got near and placed the crown on the pink troll's head. She was surprised at first, but soon felt happiness and pride as her father declared her as the new queen. As everyone cheered for her, the former gray troll went to her and took her hands into his. No words can fully describe the happiness the two trolls were feeling at that moment. Soon after, they felt the mushroom shake and realized they were being pushed high above the tree, up into the sky. It appears they were given time alone together by Smidge.

"I know it's not officially hug time yet but…" Branch spoke up and spread out his arms, offering an embrace.

"Now that I am queen, I decree that hug time ... is all the time." Poppy suddenly declared and then soon approached the turquoise colored troll, wrapping her arms around him.

* * *

Several days had passed after the failed Trollstice and everything remained peaceful between the bergens and the trolls. Most trolls were busy with building their pods or arranging their things after they retrieved them from the old village. Even Branch was busy arranging his things in his new pod, which will act as a temporary storage for some of his belongings until the time he would be finished building his underground bunker for emergencies.

He had a bookcase set up in his pod and he was organizing the books he brought with him. As he was placing those books, he noticed one of them had the title, 'The Language of Colors'. It included different meanings and symbolisms of certain colors, which may even be used as basis for explaining a troll's behavior or character. Branch opened and scanned through the book, browsing through the different colors indicated. His eyes eventually landed on a page describing about the color yellow and his thoughts brought him back to the past wherein he despised that color because it reminded him of Creek. The survivalist troll read through the page, recalling that he told that purple troll straight to his face what the other meaning for yellow was.

'It was indeed a fitting color for him.' He thought. 'He was a traitor and a coward. He has always been ever since were kids, up until now that we are adults. After everything he did, he deserved what happened to him and that bergen chef.'

The former gray troll slammed the book shut before placing it in his book case.

'Good riddance.'

His thoughts got interrupted though when he heard a knock on the door of his pod. A bit curious who his guest might be, he hurried to greet whoever came to visit. Branch opened the leaf door and was surprised to see their queen standing outside. Instantly after seeing him, Queen Poppy gave him an affectionate smile.

"Hi Branch."

She then twirled a little, displaying her outfit for the day.

"How do I look?" She asked him, grinning all the while.

The turquoise colored troll was blushing a little at the sight of the lovely troll in front of him. But he was surprised when he noticed she was wearing a new color from what she usually wears. She was wearing a yellow colored dress with orange intricate flower designs on the edge of the skirt.

"The twins made this for me. Isn't it pretty?" Poppy held her skirt on the sides, looking down to admire her dress.

Branch was silent the whole time as he took in the sight of her. When she realized that the male troll remained quiet, she became a bit worried and frowned. All of a sudden though, she recalled that her companion said he didn't like the color yellow at one point when they were all younger because of Creek. This made her feel a bit guilty for reminding him, including her, something they should never speak about ever again.

"I'm sorry… Maybe I should change my clothes? I don't think this color suits me anyway and… "

Hearing her speak broke him out of his stupor. Branch's eyes widened and immediately cut her off.

"No, no, no! It's okay! It's actually more than okay! You look very beautiful in that dress, Poppy…" The male troll trailed off and then stopped talking as he realized what he said.

Both trolls blushed madly and fell silent for a bit while looking down at their feet. But his response made the troll queen smile. Branch glanced sideways and saw her smiling; making him feel warm inside and his heart beat wildly. He slowly reached out to take her hand in his, catching her attention and making her look back at him. She can see a tinge of purple on his cheeks.

"You know…" He began. "I think I'm starting to like the color yellow."

He felt Poppy squeeze his hand, making him turn to look at her.

"Why?" She asked.

Branch smiled lovingly at the queen and took both of her hands in his, gently running his thumbs on the back of her hands in a soothing manner.

"…It's all because of you."

-End-

* * *

Aaaaaaand… I'm finally done! Whew! That was pretty lengthy. I hope you enjoyed this story. Now, I'm not making any promises about the next chapters, because real life is pretty hectic for me. But I appreciate your patience and support. You guys are truly awesome!

By the way, I wasn't sure if Primrose was already taken as a name for Poppy's mom, but if anyone used it already, I apologize. I liked it when I was first looking for a list of possible names and I came across it. I also drew a picture of Queen Primrose and posted it in my Tumblr account, just remove the spaces or underscores: (add the h-t-t-p-s at the beginning, I have no idea why it's not saving even though I left spaces in between)

: / / foureyedbeauty24 . tumblr . c_o_m / post / 159972014030 / my-visualization-for-poppys-mother-im-not-sure

Songs included:

True Colors (From Trolls, Performed by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick)

Can't Stop the Feeling! (From Trolls, Performed by Justin Timberlake with Anna Kendrick, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Ron Funchess, Zooey Deschanel, Icona Pop, Christopher Mintz-Plasse & Nayyar)

Special troll hugs to my new beta-reader neomoon585, you definitely rock! And thanks to my friends/officemates Lyn and Allan for giving your suggestions and comments for my story!


	4. Green

Rainbow

* * *

Author's notes: Thank you to all those who continue supporting my stories! You guys are truly the best and have always made my day. :D

Most especially today... Because it's my BIRTHDAY! WOOHOO!

Instead of me receiving gifts, I'll be giving you guys this chapter as my gift to you! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Additional notes: In my previous chapter, I mentioned that I have never read any of the Trolls books or novels. I was able to buy one of the (comic) books recently (Put your Hair in the Air) and that's the only one I have read so far, so my knowledge about certain non-movie trolls are quite limited. But I have at least a brief idea on what they specialize so I'm just portraying them based on what I think they would do. And I did get some inspiration from the story Betrothed by TiPoLover_22 and A Troll Epic: To Be or Not To Be by DragonNMR both in AO3.

Disclaimer: You all know how this goes. So yeah, I own nothing… NOTHING! :P

* * *

Chapter 4: Green

Almost a month had gone by since the failed Trollstice. The village by the Troll Tree continued to thrive and its residents remained happy and content. From the window of the Royal pod's office, a pink female troll was looking at her kingdom with pride. She was taking a break from her queenly duties and was quietly observing her fellow trolls, including the bergens, ensuring that everyone was pleased and well. The pink troll, Queen Poppy, worked hard to guarantee the happiness of everyone and maintain the peace and camaraderie between the trolls and the bergens. However, she couldn't achieve all of this alone; she had to work side by side with the Bergen King and his now girlfriend Bridget, her father, her friends from the Snack Pack - most especially her ever reliable and trustworthy "partner-in-crime", Branch.

Remembering the troll lad made the pink queen sigh dreamily; her thoughts seemed to be occupied most of the time by him, if she was not thinking about her duties to the village and Bergen Town. For the past few weeks, it was clear that there was something special budding between the two trolls, but they hadn't made things official yet in terms of their relationship.

The troll queen was a bit engrossed in her thoughts that she was startled when she heard a knock and then a familiar voice call out for her from outside her office.

"Poppy?"

She could recognize that voice anywhere. The pink troll smiled upon knowing who her visitor was.

"Come on in, Branch!" The queen called out.

It didn't take long that she heard the door open and saw the survivalist troll took a little peek inside to make sure that he wasn't interrupting anything. His cautiousness made the queen giggle. Hearing this made him smile sheepishly at her.

"Uh, hi Poppy… Sorry if I was disturbing you."

The pink troll waved his apology off.

"No, not at all, Branch. I was just taking a breather."

She walked over to her office desk with a stack of papers filled up with proposals she needed to review before approving to have them carried out to the whole village. She motioned to have her visitor come over and to sit on one of the two chairs in front of her desk. Branch walked over and was a bit hesitant to sit, seeing the queen hadn't done so yet. She smiled.

"Oh, don't worry about me; I'll take a seat in a minute."

Branch nodded at this and sat down.

"Would you like some tea though?" Poppy offered, walking over to her counter where a teapot, a small stove, a tray, teacups with their saucers, and other utensils were placed.

Her visitor got up immediately and was about to head over to her.

"You don't need to do that for me. If anything, I should be the one preparing your tea."

The troll queen chided him a little.

"Hey, chill, okay?" She giggled. "Just relax, Branch. I got this. And besides… although I'm the queen, I should be the one serving my people. So just stay there and feel at home. It won't take long anyway; the tea was already brewed earlier and is fairly warm, just need it to heat it up a bit."

The survivalist troll was still feeling a bit uncertain, but opted to comply with the queen's wishes to avoid any further argument. Indeed as the pink troll said, the tea didn't take long to be ready. She took out two cups and then placed them on saucers. She then poured in the hot beverage and served them on a tray, carefully bringing them to the other troll. Branch met her half way, taking the tray from her and placed it on a vacant space on the desk.

"Thanks, Branch." The queen smiled at the other troll.

"No problem, Poppy." He smiled back and took his seat again.

"So…" The pink troll began while offering her guest one of the teacups, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

The turquoise colored troll gave his thanks as he took the cup, and then he stirred his tea before taking a sip as the queen asked. He set down his drink on the saucer to give his response.

"Well, I heard from Harper that you needed to discuss about something with me…?"

The troll queen was taking a sip after she stirred the tea to cool it little as she listened to his answer. But she paused, a bit puzzled by what he said, until she realized what he meant. She felt excited to tell him the news, making her set down the tea a bit more forceful than expected, causing some of the still hot liquid to spill and slightly scald her hand.

"Ow!" She screeched.

"Poppy!"

Branch placed his teacup on the desk and immediately went to the queen to inspect the burn. He gently held her hand, checking how bad her injury was. To his relief, it wasn't that bad but he still took action and pulled out a clean handkerchief from his pocket to have it soaked with cold water. Good thing the office had its own bathroom so he hurriedly went in, douse the cloth with cold water from the sink, and went back to tend to the troll queen. Branch carefully took the injured hand and placed the cold compress on the burnt area to soothe the pain. The pink troll remained silent but was blushing the whole time the once gray troll was taking care of her. The way he was being so gentle and caring towards her were enough to set her heart aflutter.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

She simply nodded. Branch sighed.

"Please be careful next time, okay?"

The queen nodded again.

"Does it still hurt?"

"A little… I guess." Poppy meekly answered that time.

The survivalist troll removed the wet cloth to inspect again the burnt spot. It looked fairly okay but if the queen still felt pain, he might need to do something else about it.

"I have a special cream used to treat minor burns and cuts. If you want, you can come with me to my pod to get it so we can apply it to your hand to help it heal better and lessen the pain. For now, just hold the compress to your hand." Branch offered. The pink troll brightened at this and eagerly nodded. The male troll smiled, got up and gave her a tender pat on the head, before he went back to his seat. The queen was a bit surprised and fell silent for a while, remembering the gentleness of his touch on her head.

"So… What did you want to talk about with me?" The male troll asked as soon as he was seated.

"Oh, yes that's right. I'm sorry." Poppy's thoughts got derailed when she heard his question. Clearing her throat, she continued.

"I called you here because I wanted to ask help from you."

This time, the survivalist troll was all ears and paid attention to the queen.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, for the past few weeks we don't have that much issues with food because the tree and even the bergens have been helping us with our food supply. But we know that we cannot always depend on them. We can forage from time to time but that might cause a bit of a strain for those who will be sent out to gather food for us. Not to mention it might be risky. So I was thinking… Maybe we can grow our own food and I was hoping that you can teach us how to do it? I know you have enough experience in the agricultural field, being a survivalist and all that, so I thought you'd be the best troll for the job."

Branch was surprised upon hearing this. He had been thinking the same thing and even wanted to share his thoughts about it to Poppy one of those days. It looked like she beat him to it. This made him smile.

"I'm glad that you've considered this Poppy. I'd be honored to share what I know."

The queen was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately hopped off her seat, ignoring the wet cloth that fell from her hand, to give the survivalist troll a grateful hug. This made the troll lad blush but he scolded the queen a little as she might aggravate her injury. Poppy pulled away, laughing a little and lightly pinched Branch's cheek to tease him.

"Don't be such a worry wart. You've been a great nurse so far to me and I definitely know you'll also be wonderful in teaching all of us how to do gardening…"

She trailed off then paused, making her companion worry at her sudden silence.

"Is there something wrong, Poppy?" The once gray troll asked.

"Hold on... There is one other troll who is also good at gardening... or anything that is related to nature for that matter..."

Branch gave her a confused look and asked her who it was. The queen beamed at him.

"You can team up with Karma!" She responded.

The male troll fell silent for a few seconds until he recognized who Poppy was referring to.

"Oh, yes… I remember her. If you want, we can go look for her after we treat your injury."

The pink troll smiled and conceded to Branch's suggestion.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

"This is fascinating…" An orange colored female troll with twigs and leaves sticking out of her yellow green hair was busy studying the plants and vegetation being grown by the bergens. She kept adjusting the glasses she was wearing so she can observe the plants more closely.

It was the first time she was seeing actual large fruits and vegetables being grown there; like watermelons, squash, and pumpkins. She didn't exactly have the time to study the plant life in Bergen Town for the first few weeks after returning to the Troll Tree as she was busy with moving and organizing her things, as well as planning her new greenhouse for her cultured plants.

Although she had seen the large fruits and vegetables in journals or books from the Troll village library, the forest didn't have these kinds of plants so she hadn't seen them in real life. But using them as a food source wouldn't do too well for the trolls considering the size. Perhaps she can breed and make a miniature version of the plants then –

"Hey Karma!"

The orange troll looked up from where she was observing the plants, removing the glasses from her face and turned to the source of the voice. When she saw the pink queen approaching, she smiled and got up to greet their leader.

"Good day Queen Poppy. How are you?"

The troll queen smiled and responded.

"I'm doing quite well, a bit busy but still well, thanks… how about you?"

"I'm doing terrific! I've been studying all the plant life that has been growing here in Bergen Town and everything has been quite interesting. You see here…"

Karma gestured to the large fruit right beside her.

"This is a watermelon. It has a hard outer covering protecting its soft and juicy innards, with little seeds spread out within the fruit. It tastes great when it's ripe; I sampled it myself when the owner of this garden had given me a tiny slice. I was thinking of breeding and growing a troll sized version of the watermelons, including other fruits and vegetables here so we can frequently eat them!"

Poppy was smiling widely at this.

"That's an awesome idea! And that's also partly the reason why I'm here with Branch."

It was only then that the nature loving troll noticed the queen's company. She was too engrossed with everything she was talking about that she failed to acknowledge the male troll's presence.

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't notice you there, Branch. I got a bit carried away with my talk with the queen."

The former gray troll simply gave a small smile.

"It's okay; it was interesting to listen to what you shared."

Karma smiled at him and then turned to face the queen.

"Is there anything I can help you with, Your Majesty?"

"Well, Branch and I discussed earlier about having a community garden for our village. We don't want to keep depending on the Troll Tree and the bergens to give us food, right? So we're wondering if you're okay to work with him to teach the other trolls some gardening skills and grow our own food. Would that be fine with you?"

"Sure! I'd be glad to help. And good timing too, I was already going through plans with my greenhouse construction so maybe we can build it large enough for a community garden." The orange troll eagerly suggested.

"That sounds great! Don't you think so, Branch?" The troll queen asked, looking at their male companion. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I do think it's a great idea. If you ladies won't mind, I can also contribute some things with the designs and layout for the garden."

"That would be wonderful! Thank you, Branch." Karma took one of his hands to give it a firm shake. The survivalist troll was surprised at the action but he eventually accepted the handshake.

"It would be a pleasure to work with you!" The orange troll exclaimed.

"Likewise, I'm sure." Branch responded with a small smile.

Poppy's smile felt a bit strained when she was looking at both trolls' joined hands. She wondered why she was feeling a slight pang in her heart at the sight, but she opted to ignore it and tried to be happy for the two. Maybe it was nothing worthy to think about.

* * *

A few days after, both Branch and Karma were busy working together with their blueprints for the greenhouse. Other trolls even began to pitch in their suggestions as well after they heard about the queen's plans and it didn't take long that they began to build the structure. At one point, the troll children asked if they can paint designs on the walls of the greenhouse. The adult trolls didn't see anything wrong with the idea so once they finished with the construction, they helped the young ones paint designs of flowers, insects and other plants on the sides of the building. It truly was a community effort and the pink queen was pleased at the end result.

It didn't take long for the gardening lessons to start for the trolls. The troll queen was very impressed with how Branch was teaching their people; it was clear he was knowledgeable and well-versed with the lessons he was conducting. She knew she made the right choice for choosing him to be their village gardening instructor. Well, one of the instructors anyway, considering she also chose Karma to work alongside him. Speaking of Karma, as the queen expected, was quite the expert as well and had also showcased some of the plants and seeds that her family had cultured to become troll sized for the past few years. The orange troll even talked about some of the plants she recently studied that the bergens grew in town. Poppy would remain silent as she observed the two instructors, thinking that they would make a great team together. But to her surprise, instead of being happy from her observation, she felt sad and worried about the growing closeness between the two. The queen continued keeping her thoughts to herself though, and focused her attention instead to the lessons and her responsibilities to her people.

The day had finally arrived for the trolls to apply the lessons they learned about gardening. Everyone learned a lot from Branch and Karma's lessons and was soon ready to prepare their designated community garden plots and everything else needed to grow their own food. The survivalist troll was in the garden shed getting ready with the tools they needed for the day when he heard a light knock on the door frame. He turned and saw Poppy there, wearing a huge smile on her face. Seeing her made him smile back.

"Good day, Your Majesty. You're a bit early for our session today. I thought you would still be drooling on your pillow and bundled up in your blanket around this time." Branch teasingly greeted their queen as she walked inside.

"Me… Drooling? Perish the thought!" The pink troll raised an eyebrow and smirked at the other troll.

"I have you know that I, the queen, don't drool and get tangled up in my bedsheets. I am the epitome of grace."

Branch snorted at this and Poppy glared at him before continuing.

"And to satisfy your curious mind, I came here to inspect the community garden to make sure everything is in order."

The survivalist troll rolled his eyes and pretended to be hurt.

"My 'graceful' Queen Poppy…" He emphasized the word graceful in a mocking tone. "You wound me with your words. Have you no trust in your paranoid village grump?"

The pink queen snickered. It didn't take long for Branch to join her in her laughter.

"If we weren't friends, I would've sent you to prison for disrespecting your queen." Poppy joked.

Hearing that they were 'friends' made the turquoise colored troll pause, a bit lost in thought. The queen noticed his silence and became worried.

"Are you okay, Branch?"

"Huh? Oh… Yeah. I'm fine. And yeah, lucky me we're… friends…" He gave a bit of a forced smile and distracted himself by going back to the garden tools he was about to prepare later that day. The pink troll wasn't convinced that he was fine, but as she was just about to catch his attention, a familiar female voice called for him from outside the shed. Both Branch and Poppy turned to the source of the voice and by the doorway they saw Karma.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were here, Queen Poppy. Was I interrupting anything?" The orange troll asked with a hint of a worried tone in her voice.

"Huh? Uh, no… It's nothing. I'm sorry." The pink troll stuttered. "I guess I should be leaving now, I just wanted to check up on you guys to see if everything is okay, but I must have been disturbing your preparations. So yeah, see you guys later then."

And with that, the troll queen left, but not failing to take a brief glance back at Branch and Karma. She noticed the two were talking and somehow the nature-loving female had her hand on the survivalist troll's shoulder, looking like she was trying to comfort him. Seeing the interaction made the pink troll feel a surge of pain in her heart, making her surprised and confused at the newfound feeling coursing in her. She quickly left the area and made her way back to the royal pod, trying to figure out what she was feeling earlier.

Was she mad at seeing them together? Why would she be? Was she… Oh no.

The realization fell upon her like a ton of bricks and it made her pause, eyes widening. She a slight gasp escaped her lips in her shock.

Was she feeling… jealous…?

* * *

When the queen left the shed and was out of earshot, Karma immediately noticed the crestfallen expression on Branch's face. She made her way to him, feeling worried for the former gray troll.

"Is everything okay?"

There was a slight tug on the male troll's lips, barely even a smirk, before it disappeared almost instantly.

"Yeah... Don't worry about it, Karma. It's nothing."

She reached out a hand to comfort Branch, trying to guess what made the turquoise colored troll feel a bit down.

"I don't think it's nothing if you're acting like this."

"It's really nothing!" He spat. "I don't know why I'm acting like this when Poppy said we were friends. That's a good thing, right? Argh… I shouldn't make a big deal out of this… And we still have a class to prepare for later."

The survivalist troll huffed and moved away from her to get back to preparing the gardening tools for their session later that day. Karma stared at his back before moving her gaze outside the shed, looking at the direction where the queen walked off to. As she looked back to her teaching partner her eyes widened in understanding and realized what made the troll lad upset.

"I don't have the expertise in identifying people's feelings like Cybil… and I guess it's pretty clear considering how close you two were ever since you guys saved us from the bergens but… you were thinking – no – hoping that you and Poppy can become more than friends?"

Branch stopped arranging the tools but remained silent. None of the two trolls spoke until the survivalist decided to break the silence.

"Was it that… obvious?"

Karma had to snicker a little hearing that.

"You guys have no idea that the whole village was just waiting for either of you to confess and become an official couple! That's how obvious it was! It was clear there was that special connection you both have, especially that time we were all trapped in that pot and you both sang together. You practically glowed while singing! Cybil even told me that it was a rare case to see two trolls glowing while they were singing and dancing together. She even mentioned that you two might be soulmates."

The troll lad had to look at the orange troll incredulously after hearing this.

"What… Did you just say Poppy and I… are soulmates?!"

Karma was beaming and nodded.

"Well, at least that's what Cybil said. But even if you didn't know that, you guys clearly have feelings for each other! Why do you hesitate to be together?"

Branch didn't answer right away; his mind was a jumbled mess with the new information. He had a little idea about soulmates; he remembered his grandma telling him stories about them and how special and rare if one can find their soul's other half. Not all trolls end up with their soulmates, but they would learn to love the partners they have found. But what made soulmates special compared to regular couples was the unique bond the two trolls would share to the point they can sense the extreme feelings of their other halves. He couldn't believe that he would be one of the lucky trolls who would end up finding his soulmate and he would be foolish if he would let this go. That is, if what the wise troll had said was true.

He was in deep thought that he didn't notice his teaching partner was waving her hand in front of his face, trying to catch his attention. He only snapped out of his thoughts when Karma called out his name loudly into his ear, making him stumble backwards in surprise.

"GAAAH! What the hair –"

The turquoise skinned troll looked at the orange troll, seeing her mildly peeved that she was ignored but she eventually started to giggle when she saw the funny bewildered look on the male troll's face.

"Finally, Branch. I thought you would never snap out of it!"

"Wha – huh…? I'm sorry. Were you saying something earlier?"

The irritated look returned to Karma's face but she closed her eyes and gave out a heavy sigh, trying to calm herself. She opened her eyes and looked back at the other troll.

"Look. If you don't believe what I said, go ahead and ask Cybil herself. Maybe you can sort out what you truly feel for our queen if you go talk to her. Hair, I'd even let you go to her now and I'll manage the class myself later. You can just catch up if your talk ends early. "

Branch fell silent upon hearing this. He thought about her suggestion and decided it may be a good idea to speak to the wise spiritual troll. Seeing that the other troll was determined for him to go to Cybil at that moment, he knew he couldn't refuse and simply complied with her wishes. Karma smiled and nodded, urging him to leave and look for the sage troll. He smiled back, gave his thanks, and waved goodbye before he left to find Cybil.

'Hopefully she's in her pod now…'

* * *

Poppy was so lost in thought after she left the greenhouse shed and was walking around, contemplating on her feelings. Was she really jealous of seeing Karma and Branch together? She held the spot on her chest where her heart is and she could feel the pain when she thought about the survivalist troll being closer to someone else. Since the troll queen was preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't notice that she eventually ended up in front of Satin and Chenille's pod. It was large enough for the bottom floor to serve as a shop for fashion needs and the top to be their living quarters. Poppy paused with her walk, finally seeing the twins' pod and realized she hasn't spoken to them in a while considering they were all busy with moving back in to the Troll Tree and her responsibilities as queen. She decided that paying them a visit wouldn't hurt.

The troll queen opened the door to the shop, making the bell chime above it and signaling her entrance. Satin and Chenille looked up from their task in adjusting a dress on a mannequin to see their customer. They gave a gleeful shriek upon spotting their good friend before immediately welcoming her with open arms.

"Poppy!"

"Glad to see you girl!"

The twins spoke alternately, embracing the pink troll. The queen gave a slight giggle, feeling a bit happy in the presence of her friends.

"Hey Satin… Hey Chenille, how are you two?"

"We're doing great!" Both twins answered at the same time.

"We hope you're doing wonderful as well." Satin continued. The pink queen smiled a little and nodded in response.

"Is there anything you need, Poppy?" Chenille proceeded to ask the purpose of the queen's visit.

"Perhaps we should take a seat first before we continue our talk?" Satin mildly chided her sister, making the light blue female troll smile sheepishly. They looked to their guest expectantly, waiting for her response.

"Oh! Yeah, sure! Thanks." Poppy replied.

Satisfied with her answer, the pink sister stretched her hair a little, enough to give a little distance from her twin and walked to the door to turn the sign from 'open' to 'closed'. As soon as that was done, the twins guided their guest to one of the sofas in the back office before following suit and sat on the other sofa so they can continue their discussion there. Chenille offered some tea for their friend but Poppy politely declined.

"It has been a while since we've last sat and talked right?" Satin asked,

"Yeah, that's true." The troll queen answered. "Although we do give each other a couple of HI's and Hellos when we meet, those don't count. I know we've been busy and all that since we came back here so it's perfectly understandable."

The troll sisters smiled and agreed with their queen.

"You're right, Pops. Don't worry; we'll have to plan for our next get together soon so we all can catch up." Chenille suggested.

"Yeah, it'll be a blast! Even if it's just us within the Snack Pack… maybe we can organize a slumber party?" Satin continued.

The troll queen's face brightened as she listened.

"That sounds wonderful! We can have it in the royal pod, Biggie can help us with baking some pastries, DJ with the music, you guys can design us some PJs, Guy with the decorations or other props we need for the games, I can organize our activities along with Cooper, Smidge and Fuzzbert, and we can also have Branch join -"

Poppy stopped and her smile slowly fell, turning into a frown. The fashion twins suddenly became worried for their friend and immediately moving over to where she sat then gently took each of the queen's hands into their own. The pink troll blinked at the gesture.

"What's wrong, Poppy?" The sisters asked simultaneously.

The queen looked at each sister, deciding if she should tell them. The twins can clearly see her hesitation.

"You know you can talk to us about anything, right?" The light pink troll offered. Her sister agreed.

Having made her choice, she took a deep breath and let it out to calm herself. She squeezed each sister's hand and they squeezed back, knowing the queen would need all the support she could get. The twins remained silent waiting for their friend to start.

"Well… How do I put this…?" The queen began. "I… umm…"

"It's okay, Poppy. If you're not comfortable discussing this with us now, we can set time for later to talk about this again?" Chenille suggested. Her sister looked worriedly at the queen and nodded.

Poppy sighed.

"No, I guess now's the best time for this… I don't know if I can talk about it later on."

The sisters understood and urged her to continue.

"Well… Let me start with a question. What do you guys think about Branch?"

This caught the twins off guard. They faced at each other before they looked away, starting to ponder on their answer.

After a few minutes, Satin answered first.

"For starters, I could definitely say he's a smart troll."

Her sister agreed and continued. "Yeah, plus he has such a lovely voice!"

They then took turns in giving compliments about the survivalist troll.

"He can dance very well too!" Satin added.

"He's also very resourceful!" Chenille supplied.

"He's a natural poet…"

"And looks good, most especially after he got his real colors back…"

"And of course, last but not the least…" Satin began, grinning widely at her sister. Chenille nodded, smiling along before finishing their response. "We all think he's going to be a great King!"

The troll queen's eyes widened upon hearing this and blushed heavily.

"Wha – What are you – he's going to be my – did you guys say King?" Poppy stuttered, looking at her friends in surprise, still feeling flustered.

The fashionista twins only grinned wider and nodded, feeling excited.

"Yes, of course! We couldn't see anyone more fitting for that position…" Chenille started. "…Not to mention, you both look great together!" Her sister added.

The pink queen fell silent for a while pondering on their answers. To the surprise of the twins, they saw their friend's facial expression becoming glum. Before they said anything though, they heard Poppy mutter under her breath, but they can still hear her clearly.

"What's the use…? He might pick Karma over me anyway…"

The twins gasped upon hearing this. They looked at each other, seeing the pained look on the queen's face. They finally had a suspicion on what was going on.

"Poppy… are you jealous of Karma?" Satin asked.

The said troll was shocked for the straight-forward question. She looked away with a pout on her lips, crossing her arms, and flat out denied their accusation.

"No… Who said I was jealous? I never said I was jealous."

Chenille sighed. "You may not have exactly said that, but we can hear the bitterness behind those words you let out earlier about Karma."

"Yeah… Plus, you're practically turning green with envy." The other twin added her two cents in.

Poppy froze.

"What… I'm not…" She trailed off, unsure what to say in her defense.

"Look, Poppy…" Satin spoke up again when the queen fell silent. "We clearly see that there's something special between you and Branch."

Chenille continued. "That's right. In fact, we're all just waiting for either one of you to make the first move or make things official between the two of you."

"We really don't think that Branch is going to choose anyone else but you." Both of the sisters finished at the same time.

The troll queen was again surprised with what her friends said. She looked down, her face flushed, as she contemplated on their response. It didn't take long before Poppy spoke up again, albeit a bit timidly.

"Are you… Are you guys sure? I do like – no, love him… But what if he doesn't really like me, much less love me?"

"You might not notice the glances Branch sends your way if you're not looking, Poppy…" Chenille began before her sister continued for her. "But anyone else can see he totally adores you. He doesn't have that look towards anyone else. Even if he's working with Karma more often than usual recently, he doesn't look at her the same way as he looks at you."

Poppy blushed and the happiness became evident on her face as her lips curved to small smile.

"Should I… Should I tell him how I feel?" The pink queen asked her friends.

The fashionista sisters' smiles went wide.

"Yes!" They responded together. "We'll even make you a new outfit to make his jaw drop." Satin offered. Chenille eagerly nodded, approving of her sister's idea. "He'll be sure to be mesmerized with your new look; we'll even style your hair! We've been learning a lot from Maddy so we've got you covered girl!"

Poppy was getting excited now and put on a determined look on her face.

"Let's do this, girls."

* * *

Branch was in front of Cybil's pod, hesitating to knock and check if the guru troll was home. He was becoming skittish but he kept taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Just when he was about to knock the pod door, it suddenly opened revealing a light green female troll with long wavy pale blue hair and a lavender bindi gem on her forehead standing by the doorway. She also had 3 gold earrings, one on her right and two on her left, and was wearing a light purple dress. Cybil didn't look surprised when she saw Branch outside her door; instead, she had a knowing smile on her face, as if she was already expecting her visitor.

"Hello, Branch. I've been waiting for you. Would you like to come in?"

The survivalist troll's eyes widened.

"You were… You knew I was coming? How…?"

The wise troll giggled.

"Well, let's just say I have my ways…"

Unseen by the two trolls, a bug was flying from an open window of Cybil's pod and sped back to his owner. When he spotted a familiar orange troll with twigs and leaves in her yellow green hair, he covered the remaining distance and rushed over to her. The orange troll was delighted to see her friend come back to her.

"Hey there, Syer! Welcome home!"

Karma opened her arms as she greeted the speedy little bug. He flew in to her embrace and relished the welcome. The orange troll giggled when the little bug nuzzled his face to her own, tickling her. Karma soon gently pulled him away from her so she can see him face to face and speak to him.

"Were you able to give the message to Cybil?"

The little bug nodded. The nature loving troll beamed at him and patted him on the head, telling him he had done a great job.

After Branch left earlier, Karma went to another shed where she kept her bug collection. She looked for her fastest messenger bug to send the sage troll a message, letting her know of her visitor.

"Now we just have to wait and see how it goes."

Going back to Branch and Cybil, the survivalist troll was already seated on one of the chairs inside the host's house while she was busy making tea for her guest. The only sound that can be heard was Cybil's humming; the other troll was silent, occupied with his thoughts and unsure how to proceed with their conversation. He was only interrupted when the light green female troll came over to him and offered him a cup of tea. He accepted it and said his thanks, stirring the tea to cool the drink a little before he took a sip.

"How are you, Branch? You must have been quite busy recently with things that were happening after we got back here from the Forest troll village."

The turquoise colored troll gave a small smile and nodded.

"Yeah, I had to go back to the old Troll village a couple of times to get my things, build my new bunker here and organize things in the pod I've chosen for me, helping out with the construction and repairs of a few things here, doing some favors for the Queen, particularly the gardening lessons she asked me to teach with Karma to the other trolls for the past few days. Pretty much had my hands full most of the time for the past several weeks."

Cybil smiled.

"At the very least, there hasn't been a dull moment for you, right?"

Branch shrugged.

"I guess you can put it that way."

"You spoke about the Queen though, how are things with her so far?"

Upon hearing this, the once gray troll froze. But he managed to break himself out of his stupor, giving out a nervous chuckle.

"Uhh… I guess we're… Umm… Doing okay?"

The reaction didn't escape the wise spiritual troll but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she kept smiling and focused on his answer.

"That's good to hear. It will be worrisome if things won't go so well with you two… Considering both of you work great together."

Branch was surprised upon hearing this.

"What do you mean by that, Cybil?" He asked.

"Well, I personally think that you two make a good team… just like what happened when both of you worked hard to save all of us from the bergens."

"That was all Poppy's doing…" He retorted.

"But Poppy wouldn't be able to save us all if it weren't for you giving her hope and restoring her colors." Cybil countered.

"I…" The survivalist troll began but he stopped, when he wasn't sure what to say.

"Look, Branch. If you think that you and Poppy shouldn't be together, you are mistaken. I can see how you two interact and it's clear as day that you both share a bond so special and Poppy hasn't shared that with anyone else… not even with Creek."

The male troll's eyes widened.

"Are you… Are you sure? Karma told me that you believed Poppy and I are soulmates. How can that be? And you didn't believe that Creek and Poppy had that bond you mentioned? I thought you were rooting for Creek since you were his mentor?"

Cybil sighed and a morose expression appeared on her face. She looked down, feeling ashamed.

"I… I did support him to be with Poppy because I thought that he would become a better troll and I assumed he was improving when he was with her. But I know that I was a tad bit careless with the way I treated him and didn't expect that his negative behavior would still come out. I truly and deeply apologize for that. In a way, I was at fault for everything he had done."

The troll lad's shock slowly ebbed away, replacing it with sadness and pity towards the female in front of him. He knew how much Creek's betrayal pained her and despite that the purple troll had a rotten core, Cybil still loved him as a brother.

"Cybil…"

The said troll looked up as Branch began to speak.

"I don't think that it was your fault for what happened with Creek. Some people may never change no matter how well hidden their true colors may be. I know that you did your best to guide him and that should have been enough. If he truly wanted to change, he would do it on his own. And anything he did it was his choice to make. You didn't make him do those things; he made his own choice. There's no one else to blame but him..."

"Branch…"

Cybil got cut off when the once gray troll continued, "I'm actually surprised you knew about his behavior. I thought everyone believed he was Mr. Wonderful and Perfect."

The sage troll gave a sad smile.

"Believe it or not, I saw his true colors a long time ago."

This made Branch gasp.

"You did? How…? When…?"

"Did you think that he was someone easy to teach? He had contradicted me several times when I was first teaching him. I have to admit that during those times, he was arrogant and stubborn. But as we grew older, he became more accepting and flexible. And I thought that he was becoming better when he became close friends with Poppy. It looks like I had too much faith in him and didn't see the darkness that still dwelled in his heart."

The male troll shook his head.

"Having faith isn't too bad. In all honesty, if Poppy stopped believing in me, I wouldn't be able to find my happiness. Turns out, she is my happiness..." He trailed off, surprised with what he said. His face instantly flushed, and Cybil's smile widened upon hearing this.

"I'm glad you finally realized that, Branch."

"Umm… I…" He stuttered. "I didn't… Was that your intention? I… Ugh… Oh, what's the use…? It's true… and in a way, I came to you because of that."

The sage troll gave a thoughtful look.

"Ah yes… You mentioned earlier that Karma told you about me saying that you and Poppy are soulmates... That is the truth. It was clear when you both glowed as you sang and danced together. But it is up to you if you accept that and do something about it. You said it yourself, Poppy is your happiness. Do you really want to let that happiness go?"

Branch fell silent and contemplated on Cybil's response. She was right; there was something special between him and Poppy. Why was he hesitant to pursue having a relationship with her if that was the case?

'Oh, yeah…' He thought. 'I was afraid of losing her in the first place… Just like what happened with my grandma…'

The light green colored female troll noticed Branch's expression changed. He had the glum look on his face again.

And just when she thought they were already making progress… What was he worried about?

"Branch… Are you all right?" She asked.

The troll lad looked at her, his line of thought interrupted, but the glum look never went away.

"Are you worried that Poppy will not accept you?"

Branch's eyes went wide and shook his head but stopped. He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"I… I guess that's partly the reason…"

"But…?" Cybil urged him to continue.

The once gray troll sighed.

"I… I'm afraid… I might…" He gulped and bowed his head, his eyes gazing at the floor. "I might… lose her too… like what happened to my grandma."

The guru troll fell silent as she vaguely recalled a nice elderly female troll in her youth. She was a purple skinned troll with mint green hair streaked with white and always wore a smile when she meets everyone. It was surprising how she could have forgotten about Rosiepuff. Although Branch was her grandson by blood, she treated everyone else as if they were her own children and grandchildren. Cybil was greatly saddened when they lost the kind elderly troll and she understood the Branch's sentiments, but she wanted to make him see that fear wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Oh, Branch…" She got up from her seat and moved to sit down beside the male troll, putting a hand on his shoulder to give him comfort.

"I understand how you feel. But, if you let this go, you might never have a chance to get it back. Is fear really worth it to the point you would have to lose your happiness? Surely your grandma wanted you to be happy… Don't let the chance go to waste."

The survivalist troll remained quiet as he pondered on what Cybil said.

Was it really worth it… to remain afraid and distant all his life? To be alone and miserable for the rest of his days…? He already admitted that Poppy was his happiness. Was it really bad for him to hope that he can be with her and be finally happy?

He thought about it long and hard. The light green female troll sitting beside him was starting to get concerned but she let him continue with his internal musings. As she was about to get up and leave Branch be, she heard him call out to her. As she turned, she noticed the determined look on his face.

"You're right. I… I better tell Poppy my feelings for her before it's too late."

Cybil let out a breath of relief and smiled. She nodded.

"Go now, Branch. Go to Poppy. And all I wish for you two is to be happy."

He smiled.

"Thank you, Cybil. See you later."

Branch soon left the sage troll's pod and hurried to find the troll queen. Hopefully she would be willing to give him time and listen to what he would have to say.

* * *

"There! We're done!"

As soon as the fashion twins were finished in doing their friend's makeover, they stepped back from their position in front of the queen so she can see herself in the full body mirror before them.

Poppy gasped as she saw her look.

The twins didn't go overboard with her overall appearance, but it was still amazing to see what they had done to her hair, make up and outfit. She was wearing a three-toned off-shoulder dress stopping by her knees which had the colors pastel green at the top, transitioning to baby blue in the middle and ended with a pale indigo by the hem of her skirt. A pattern of flowers and vines in white were designed along the edging. Her bangs was brushed and curled a little on the sides, while the rest of her hair was tied into a loose bun at the top of her head, and a part of her hair was braided to loop around the bun and hold it in place. The blue and green flower crown still adorned her head. For her makeup, they had shimmering purple eye shadow applied on her eye lids, added a little glitter on her cheeks, and gave a slight sheen of strawberry balm on her lips.

Poppy became ecstatic and she pulled the twin sisters into a hug to thank them for their help. They were all smiles and giggles before the queen pulled away to look at her friends.

"Thank you so much you guys! You two are awesome. I better get going now and find my grumpy prince."

The sisters laughed.

"If things go well…" Satin began, "He'll be a king soon!" Chenille completed that remark.

Poppy gave them both a grateful smile and bade them farewell. Before she stepped out of the pod though, she took a quick look at the wall clock and noted that the gardening lessons for that day already started. She immediately set course to look for Branch at the community garden.

As the troll queen walked back to the greenhouse, the other trolls she encountered along the way noticed her new look and immediately showered her with compliments. Poppy started to feel a little embarrassed by the attention and began to blush but she was still appreciative for the nice comments that her people had been telling her. It didn't take long though that she arrived at the garden entrance. As if fate had planned it, she noticed the turquoise colored troll turning by the corner of the greenhouse and he immediately stopped when he saw her. His eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful troll in front of him making him slack jawed and flushed. It took a while before his shock started to lessen slightly and he finally found his voice.

"Poppy…? Is that you…?" Branch asked with wonder in his voice, fully enthralled by the troll queen.

The pink troll gave a shy little smile and responded.

"Yeah… Hi, Branch." She gave a small twirl for him. "How do I look?" She asked.

"You look…" The amazement still didn't leave his voice, "You look so beautiful…"

Poppy blushed at hearing this.

"Thank you… I… I was nervous you wouldn't like how I look… I sort of did this for you, with the help of the twins of course…"

She trailed off when Branch walked closer, took hold of her hands and looked at her affectionately.

"You will always be beautiful to me, Poppy. Both inside and out… You're perfect and wonderful, just the way you are."

The queen's face reddened even more.

"Umm… Can I ask you something, Branch?"

"Yes?"

"Is there someone you're interested in… Or even perhaps in love with? Someone like… Karma…?"

The survivalist troll was flabbergasted to the point he released the queen's hands and took a step back. Did she really assume that he was in love with Karma?

"What? No!" He denied vehemently. "Sure she's nice and all, but I don't have feelings for her! Or anyone else for that matter… There's only one troll in my heart. Only one troll I consider special… And that's…"

'Should I tell her? Is this the right time to confess?'

"Who is it, Branch?" The pink troll asked when he stopped talking.

The troll lad stared into her eyes, seeing the hope and anticipation in them for his answer. He inhaled deeply and took a giant leap of faith. He slightly squeezed the pink troll's hands.

"It's… It's you, Poppy. I… I love you."

The troll queen gasped. Tears began welling in her eyes as she heard Branch's confession.

When he saw the tears, he panicked and immediately reached up to wipe them away, feeling worried at the troll lass' reaction.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry! What was I thinking?! I probably shouldn't have said that. I'm really sorry, Poppy! Did I upset you-"

He suddenly got cut off when he felt soft lips pressed to his own. He was stunned speechless. Was Poppy kissing him? Him…?! Branch the paranoid village grump…? What?! Does this mean she…

It didn't take long before those lips parted from his. He looked at the pink troll in disbelief, as if she had grown a second head.

Poppy just smiled shyly with her cheeks still tinted with a dark blush.

"I love you too, Branch." She gave her answer.

"Wha- Really…?" The said troll couldn't believe what she just said. "You really love me?"

Poppy nodded.

"I do. I'm sorry if I assumed that you had feelings for Karma. I admit I was feeling a bit jealous when you two were getting closer."

"Oh Poppy…" Branch went closer and brought his hands up to cup her face, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry you had to feel that way. But I promise you, you're the only one I'll love and nothing will ever change that."

The queen beamed.

"Really…? You promise?"

The turquoise colored troll looked at her with seriousness in his gaze.

"Yes, I promise."

Poppy's smile became much brighter and Branch couldn't help but smile back. They were both locked into each other's gaze as their faces slowly inched close. Soon, their lips met and both trolls closed their eyes, savoring the kiss. Branch noted the strawberry flavored gloss on her lips and he smiled at that, it just made their kiss much sweeter. The kiss was interrupted though when they heard applauses and cheering.

Both trolls' eyes went wide and pulled away from each other, looking around them. Apparently the ones who were inside the greenhouse and everyone else outside witnessed the kiss; there were wide smiles plastered on their faces. Poppy and Branch were blushing madly as they realized they had an audience. Karma opened the door of the greenhouse, smirking at the two of them as she walked out.

"So does this mean that things are official now between you two?" The orange colored troll with yellow green hair asked Poppy and Branch.

They looked at each other and smiled. The survivalist troll pulled the queen towards him and gave her a quick peck on the lips, making her giggle when he pulled away. They looked back at Karma and responded at the same time.

"Does this answer your question?"

Everyone else squealed, happy for the new royal couple. But the one who was the most ecstatic was Karma herself.

Branch leaned into his new girlfriend's ear and whispered, "See, there's nothing to be jealous about. I love only you, Poppy."

The queen smiled mischievously and turned to face him, grabbing the front of his vest and looked him straight in the eye.

"I better be the only one, Branch, because jealousy isn't a pretty thing."

The once gray troll was surprised yet laughed at his love's reaction.

"I know and don't worry. I love you and no one can take me away from you."

"Good!" Poppy pulled him in for another kiss.

-End-

* * *

Author's notes: Finally! I'm done! Oh my goodness. It took me months to finish this? I really am sorry. But to be honest, aside from being busy at work and other priorities, I was also preoccupied with reading an ongoing Vampire/Human AU fanfiction series for Trolls posted in AO3 by DragonNMR and Secretsivekept. It's super good! It made me cry, laugh, scared, angry, and there were times I almost had a heart attack! No joke! I had an emotional roller coaster ride while just reading the story. A warning, it is best read by mature audiences as there may be parts that are quite sensitive for minors. But don't worry, there are warnings on the chapter titles (telling if it's NSFW for example – yes there is a chapter which is tagged as NSFW but it can be skipped) and at the beginning of the story itself. So read at your own risk if you're interested. But I guarantee you, you won't be disappointed.

Also, feel free to follow my Tumblr account: FourEyedBeauty24

I posted some Trolls fan art I drew there and you might also see the illustration I made for Poppy based on her post-makeover look I included in this chapter.

I'll still upload it but you guys can also check it here: h-t-t-p-:-/-/-imgur-.-com-/-i3WyWmK

Just remove the dashes.

The description for Cybil was inspired from Black Raider's story, "The Flame of Happiness" here in FF. Although we had a similar idea that Cybil adopted Creek and was his mentor, she acted more of a sister to him. I kind of suspected that her age gap isn't that far off from Poppy and the others based on how she looked like in the book I mentioned in my first A/N. And the idea is also a bit inspired again from Betrothed by TiPoLover_22 in AO3 but they were actual siblings in that story.

I'd like to extend my special thanks to my beta, Neomoon585! Thanks for sharing your comments and ideas with me.

And of course to my readers, I couldn't thank you guys enough for continuing to support and read this one shot series. All of you are awesome.


	5. Blue

Rainbow

* * *

Author's notes: To the readers and followers of this story, I thank you all for your patience and continued support for this one shot series. I thought that it would be easy for me to write a story for this color theme but apparently it was a bit of a challenge. I had about three story ideas for this, but every time I start writing them I would get stuck in the middle. I kept changing my plots and in the end, thanks to the Trolls Week 2017 event by Secretsivekept in Tumblr, I finally had the motivation to write this. This is intended for the event's Day 5 (Last Thursday, 9/21/2017) Theme: Song for Someone (although I know I'm posting this a little bit late). This is much shorter compared to my stories in the previous chapters, but I hope you guys will still enjoy this.

This is the only fanfiction entry I made for the Trolls Week event, the rest are fan art I made (and the majority of which are Broppy art). You can check them out in my Tumblr page (search for FourEyedBeauty24) and Instagram (BornOnTheBreakOfDawn)

Disclaimer: I don't own Dreamworks Trolls or the song to be used in this story. There are mentions of a few OCs here, so those characters I can claim as my own.

* * *

Chapter 5: Blue

It was one fine early afternoon in Bergen Town. Several of the Bergens could be seen walking about and doing their daily tasks with smiles on their faces, sometimes singing and dancing along with their Troll friends. Even their leaders, the Bergen King and the Troll Queen had decided to join in the fun after their meeting had ended a few minutes prior. After everyone had finished their little impromptu song and dance number, King Gristle Jr. and his girlfriend Bridget, saw to it that Queen Poppy had safely returned to the Troll Tree, despite her insistence it wasn't necessary. She still thanked them though when she arrived, and bade them farewell for the day. Though the pink queen had enjoyed her time together with her favorite Bergen couple, she was still feeling a little drained and wanted to get some rest. Thankfully, she had already finished all of her duties for the day and she can go home.

As she made her way to the royal pod, a few of her friends from the Snack Pack had seen her and immediately came over to see how things were going.

"Everything went smoothly." Poppy assured her friends. "Basically it was just a casual lunch meeting but we did insert some serious topics to be discussed at a later time."

"Like what, Poppy?" Smidge, the small yellow female troll of the group, asked in her usual deep voice.

"Well, like how to prepare for the coming seasons, most especially winter; how to deal with the concerns of our people in terms of adjusting to the life here; preparing or dealing with unwanted 'visitors'; improving or redesigning some of the structures here in town to accommodate Trolls and Bergens alike... You know… those kinds of stuff."

"Wow, I didn't realize being a Queen could be so tough. Must be getting tiring for you huh, Poppy?"

"Cooper!" The rest of the Snack Pack admonished the llama troll. He ducked his head a little, feeling a bit sheepish upon realizing what he had said. The Troll Queen simply smiled and took everything in stride.

"Hey, it's all fine you guys. Cooper's right anyway. This is not an easy role and I knew it from the beginning. The new challenge here is that, unlike my predecessors, I'm not working to keep the peace only within our own kind but with the Bergens as well. Though, this is also that made me realize how grateful I am to have you guys by my side. Because without all of your support, I might be at my wits' end with my job and go bald." She replied jokingly.

"No, Poppy! Please don't say the 'b' word! It's the worst thing that could happen to any troll!" Guy Diamond reprimanded. This only brought out a giggle from their pink friend.

"Sorry, Guy. But all jokes aside, I'm truly thankful for you guys. Like what you did for me today while I was away on that meeting; you all did me a huge favor in watching out for our fellow trolls, and even the Bergens. That in itself is one of the things that I'm thankful for."

"Aww… This is a perfect time for a group hug! IT'S HUG TIME PEOPLE!" DJ Suki declared. The rest of the Snack Pack had agreed and huddled around the Troll Queen, encasing her in a big embrace.

"HUG TIME!" The small group of friends happily shouted as they continued to hug.

It lasted for a few moments before they all parted, smiling and laughing at each other. Poppy noticed one thing though and it made her frown a little.

"Umm… Guys, where's Branch?" She asked.

Her friends gave a questioning look at each other, unsure where the former gray troll could be. Smidge noticed though that Fuzzbert was trying to say something. As she listened carefully, she announced to them what the yellow green hair-covered troll had said.

"Fuzzbert says that Branch can be found in the kindergarten pod."

This puzzled the pink royalty.

"Why is he there?"

Fuzzbert again made some mumbling sounds that seemed inaudible to the rest of them; but Smidge was able to understand him perfectly.

"He says he isn't sure why Branch was there; he thinks that maybe the teacher had requested him to present something to the kids or probably tell them a story."

"Hmm… Maybe it's time for me to pay a little visit to those kids. I'm free anyway for the rest of the afternoon. I hope you guys won't mind me checking how they're doing?"

"It's perfectly fine, Poppy. We all understand. Isn't that right, guys?" Biggie asked the rest of their group. Everyone nodded their heads, though some may had a hint of a mischievous look in their eyes as they gave each other knowing smiles.

"Thanks, you guys. I'll see you soon." With renewed energy, the pink troll made her way to the pod where the survivalist troll could be in.

"Go, Poppy! Hurry to your Prince Charming!" Satin and Chenille teased when the queen was out of earshot.

"Shouldn't he be her King though?" Cooper asked.

"They'll have to get married first before that happens, Cooper; which I think may happen sooner than we expect." DJ Suki supplied. Everyone else just smiled at her remark.

* * *

"…And the troll princess and her prince lived happily ever after. And that's the end of our story, kids."

The troll children were all smiles, clapping as the story ended with their teacher applauding along. A turquoise colored male troll with blue hair stood up from his seat, bowing to the young trolls. The applause grew louder as he did so.

"That was some wonderful storytelling, Mr. Branch. Thank you for that. We all know you have a lovely singing voice. Would you mind performing a song or two for the children?"

The students had approved of the suggestion and became excited themselves. The former gray troll blushed when the teacher complimented his voice and from the attention. He cleared his throat to calm his nervousness and nodded timidly, accepting the request for him to offer them a song. Before he started though, he turned to look at the blue upright piano situated on one side of the pod.

He faced the teacher again and asked, "May I use that piano over there?" He pointed to the instrument standing by the wall. The teacher was surprised with the question, but she smiled.

"Of course! You may go ahead, Sir."

Branch smiled. "Thank you, Miss."

The once gray troll wordlessly made his way to the piano and took a seat. Everyone in the pod was getting excited to hear him sing. Just then, without anyone's notice, the Queen had arrived by the pod and peering through the open door. She scanned the room to see the familiar blue haired male troll but it was only when she heard the music beginning to play that she saw him. She gasped quietly, surprised to see him playing on the piano. The song was a bit of a jazz type of music. The trolls inside were either clapping along or tapping their feet to the beat. Poppy listened to the song intently.

Blue skies  
Smiling at me  
Nothing but blue skies  
Do I see

Bluebirds  
Singing a song  
Nothing but bluebirds  
All day long

Never saw the sun shining so bright  
Never saw things going so right  
Noticing the days hurrying by  
When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days  
All of them gone  
Nothing but blue skies  
From now on

I never saw the sun shining so bright  
Never saw things going oh-so right  
Noticing the days hurrying by  
When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days  
All of them gone  
Nothing but blue skies  
From now on

As the last note on the keys faded, everyone erupted into cheers and applause for the wonderful performance. He got up and moved around his seat to give a bow to everyone. The children flocked around Branch, asking for high-fives or hugs. The smile on Branch's face only grew wider as he accepted all of those, feeling elated. They all froze though when they heard a new voice in the pod.

"That was truly amazing, Branch. I enjoyed your performance." The pink queen complimented the troll.

"Queen Poppy!"

After getting over their initial shock, the troll children rushed over to give their queen a big hug which she accepted whole-heartedly. The teacher giggled at the sight. Branch, on the other hand, was still trying to reel in the surprise he felt that Poppy was there. He looked away, feeling a bit bashful.

"It's great to have you here, Queen Poppy." The teacher, named Ivy, greeted. "This is indeed a pleasant surprise to see you."

"Thank you, Miss Ivy. I only planned to just drop by and say hello to everyone here and see how things were going. Looks like I myself got a pleasant surprise when Branch performed today."

Hearing this made the turquoise colored troll blush. He glanced a little to the pink royalty and blushed even more when he caught her looking at him and smiling.

"By the way, what was the title of that song? It sounds familiar but I wasn't sure what it's called." Poppy asked Branch. He gave a sad smile.

"Umm… The title is, 'Blue Skies'. It was one of my mother's favorite songs."

The smile slowly fell from the Queen's face upon hearing this. The teacher also had a sympathetic look but some of the children weren't able to notice their reactions and were still all smiles.

"Wow, does your mom have a beautiful voice too, Mr. Branch?"

"Can we ask her to sing here too?"

"How come we don't see her? Even your dad…?"

"Children…" Miss Ivy was about to chastise them when she noticed that Branch raised his hand to stop her.

"It is alright, Miss." He turned to address the young trolls and sat down on the piano stool in front of them. They went closer to him, anticipating his answer.

"My mother, Bluebell, was one of the best singers and a talented pianist in the kingdom. She taught music to children starting your age and even the older trolls when they wanted to improve their singing or wanted to learn how to play the piano. She loved many types of songs, and the song I sang happened to be one of them. And this," He gestured to the upright piano, "…Was a wedding gift my father, Cedar, had made for my mother. He was a carpenter, in case you were curious."

"Wow…" The children commented in unison. This made Branch chuckle.

"But where are they? Why haven't we seen them around?" One of the trollings asked.

This made the former gray troll sigh. Queen Poppy walked over to him to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked at her wordlessly, giving her an appreciative smile. He looked back to the children.

"They were…" He felt his heart was stuck in his throat. "They were Trollstice trolls."

The young trolls didn't ask any further as they had already understood. The mood started to become a bit depressing until the wall clock chimed, signaling that it was already the end of the class.

"Oh, it looks like we don't have any more time, kids. Let's thank Mr. Branch and Queen Poppy for being with us today and say our goodbyes. We'll see each other tomorrow again, children."

"Can Mr. Branch come over tomorrow to sing for us again? Queen Poppy can sing with him too!" Another trolling inquired.

The teacher looked at the two trolls in question. They looked at each other and gave a small smile. They both faced the child who asked.

"I don't see why not; we'll be happy to sing for you tomorrow." Poppy nodded along with her, agreeing to the idea.

"See you tomorrow, kids." He stood up from his seat and bade them goodbye.

All of the troll children squealed in happiness and went over to the two, giving them both hugs. The teacher looked at all of them with a smile. Everyone expressed their appreciation to the two before the teacher asked them all to get their things and line up facing the pod door. Miss Ivy went closer to Poppy and Branch, speaking to them softly so the children wouldn't hear.

"Again, thank you so much for everything today, most especially to you Mr. Branch. We'll be looking forward to your duet tomorrow. And because of that, you can stay here and practice. Please make sure to close the pod door when you leave. Is that okay?"

The pink queen beamed widely and was starting to get excited. Branch smiled as well.

"Thank you, Miss Ivy. Don't worry; we'll take care of everything here." He responded.

"I'm sure you will. Thank you again, you two! See you both tomorrow!" Ivy walked over to the troll children and led them outside to go home with their parents.

The two remaining trolls inside the pod looked at each other. Poppy smiled at Branch and went over to sit on the piano bench. He soon followed suit, both of them facing the piano. The Troll Queen played a few random keys on the instrument, before she started to speak.

"Where did you learn how to play the piano, Branch?" Her curiosity of his hidden talent had gotten to her. The male troll simply gave a timid smile.

"My grandma taught me when I was a kid. It was this very piano that she used to teach me the basics on how to play and she showed me my mother's music sheets to practice…"

He caressed the smooth wood surface of the instrument.

"You know, it was thanks to your father that I got this back; even though I decided to have it donated for the class pods. Apparently he had stored this along with other valuable yet large belongings before everyone escaped the Troll Tree all those years ago. Although it was a bit painful to see a piece of my past because of what I've lost, I'm still glad this is still here because of the fond memories I shared with my grandmother during her lessons and the stories she had told me about my parents…"

Poppy observed his features as he spoke. She can still see the pained look in his eye as he reminisced his past. She knew that no matter how long it had been and despite him gaining back his colors, he would never forget the hurt he felt when he had lost his family.

The pink troll placed her hand on top of his; catching Branch's attention. He looked at her and he saw her comforting smile and the look of understanding in her eyes.

"I'm happy though you got back to singing and playing the piano. It looks like we'll soon have our jam sessions when I get a new mandolin."

He sheepishly smiled at her. He carefully pulled away the hand covered by Poppy's and putting it on top of hers instead, before giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Sorry about that, I'll get that replaced soon. I promise."

The queen giggled.

"I'll be looking forward to that then. So, shall we begin our practice for our presentation tomorrow for the kids?" She told him.

"Yeah... Can I tell you something though before we start?" He asked.

"Sure thing, Branch, I'm all ears!" The queen responded.

He turned to face her, reaching to hold both of her hands and looked at her straight in the eye. The pink troll was startled when she noticed the serious look on his face.

"I just wanted to say… Thank you, Poppy." He suddenly told her.

This caught the queen off guard.

"For what…?"

He brought her right hand close to his lips and kissed the back of it, making the pink queen blush.

"For chasing my blue days away and giving me back my blue skies…"

This made Poppy snort before she started to giggle. Branch looked insulted.

"What?" He exclaimed, a bit exasperated.

"I thought you were about to say something serious. You just borrowed some of the lyrics from the song you performed earlier."

Branch pouted, pulling away his hands away from Poppy and crossed his arms.

"So what if I did? And I was serious. The words were fitting."

The pink troll continued to chortle. This irked the turquoise colored troll even more. He huffed and looked away. The queen's laughs subsided but a smirk still remained on her face.

"Hey Branch." She called out to the troll beside her.

As he turned to face her, he didn't expect the sudden kiss on his cheek. It only lasted for a split second before the pink troll pulled away. Branch was stunned speechless. She gently took one of his hands and entwined her fingers with his, smiling all the while. Her pink eyes gazed into his beautiful blue ones as she spoke.

"You weren't far from the truth, you know. And I promise you when you're with me, you will never feel blue. I will make sure of that."

-End-

* * *

Song credits: "Blue Skies" by Ella Fitzgerald (there was also a version sung by Doris Day) - Both singers also sang "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (the song Poppy was about to sing before Branch interrupted her in the movie)

A special mention to my beta: Neomoon585. Thanks always for your help with my stories!

Hopefully I will be able to finish this series within this year, though I hope you guys will continue to support this until then. I can never thank you all enough for your feedback and follows of this story.

'Til next time! Ciao!


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